The patterns of seasonal activity of Ixodes vespertilionis (Acari: Ixodidae) on Rhinolophus hipposideros in nursery colonies

Piksa, Krzysztof; Górz, Andrzej; Nowak-Chmura, Magdalena; Siuda, K

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2013.08.006

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Concerning the seasonality of I. vespertilionis in caves, tick numbers (including all stages) appeared to be highest in the spring time, in line with what was reported on ticks collected from bats [3,14]. In the present study immature stages were found in all seasons, and this may indicate a continuous, year-round activity in the protected, underground shelters (meaning less exposure to weather variables), with increase or decrease in tick numbers depending on the presence of hosts.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Arthur [2] also noted that during the summer time only a few males were reported in caves by some authors. On the other hand, female ticks were not observed on bats during the summer and autumn in another survey [14], but in this study were shown to be present in caves. These females may have developed from nymphs that completed their blood meal in the previous season.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

“…The review by Arthur [2] notes that descriptions are inadequate in many respects. Data on the seasonal activity of the most widespread species, I. vespertilionis have become available only recently [3,14], and these are restricted to ticks collected from bats. At the same time, with growing concern about using molecular methods for the analysis of the taxonomical status of ticks, these were not applied to compare bat ticks, despite the long-known uncertainty in the morphology [2] and nomenclature [15,16] of relevant species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bat ticks revisited: Ixodes ariadnae sp. nov. and allopatric genotypes of I. vespertilionis in caves of Hungary

Hornok

Kontschán

Kováts

et al. 2014

Parasites & Vectors

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BackgroundIn Europe two ixodid bat tick species, Ixodes vespertilionis and I. simplex were hitherto known to occur.MethodsBat ticks were collected from cave walls and bats in Hungary. Their morphology and genotypes were compared with microscopy and conventional PCR (followed by sequencing), respectively.ResultsA year-round activity of I. vespertilionis was observed. Molecular analysis of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene of twenty ticks from different caves showed that the occurrence of the most common genotype was associated with the caves close to each other. A few specimens of a morphologically different tick variant were also found and their COI analysis revealed only 86-88% sequence homology with I. simplex and I. vespertilionis, respectively.ConclusionsThe microenvironment of caves (well separated from each other) appears to support the existence of allopatric I. vespertilionis COI genotypes, most likely related to the distance between caves and to bat migration over-bridging certain caves. The name I. ariadnae sp. nov. is given to the new tick species described here for the first time.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bat ticks revisited: Ixodes ariadnae sp. nov. and allopatric genotypes of I. vespertilionis in caves of Hungary

Hornok

Kontschán

Kováts

et al. 2014

Parasites & Vectors

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“…Bats can also carry different stages of I. ricinus ticks, thus they can also transport ticks to urban areas ( 88 ). Species especially adaptive in human dwellings, e.g., the lesser horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus hipposideros ), can serve as tick-maintenance hosts but the role of these flying mammals in the pathogen life cycles remains to be clarified ( 54 ). Experimental TBEV viremia was shown in the greater mouse-eared bat ( Myotis myotis ), which is also a common urban inhabitant ( 51 ).…”

Section: Vertebrate Hosts Of Ticks and Tick-borne Pathogens In Urban mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ixodes ricinus and Its Transmitted Pathogens in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas in Europe: New Hazards and Relevance for Public Health

Rizzoli¹,

Silaghi²,

Obiegala³

et al. 2014

Front. Public Health

408

373

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Tick-borne diseases represent major public and animal health issues worldwide. Ixodes ricinus, primarily associated with deciduous and mixed forests, is the principal vector of causative agents of viral, bacterial, and protozoan zoonotic diseases in Europe. Recently, abundant tick populations have been observed in European urban green areas, which are of public health relevance due to the exposure of humans and domesticated animals to potentially infected ticks. In urban habitats, small and medium-sized mammals, birds, companion animals (dogs and cats), and larger mammals (roe deer and wild boar) play a role in maintenance of tick populations and as reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens. Presence of ticks infected with tick-borne encephalitis virus and high prevalence of ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., causing Lyme borreliosis, have been reported from urbanized areas in Europe. Emerging pathogens, including bacteria of the order Rickettsiales (Anaplasma phagocytophilum, “Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis,” Rickettsia helvetica, and R. monacensis), Borrelia miyamotoi, and protozoans (Babesia divergens, B. venatorum, and B. microti) have also been detected in urban tick populations. Understanding the ecology of ticks and their associations with hosts in a European urbanized environment is crucial to quantify parameters necessary for risk pre-assessment and identification of public health strategies for control and prevention of tick-borne diseases.

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“…I. vespertilionis occurs predominantly on Rhinolophus spp. [ 5 , 8 ], I. ariadnae mainly on Myotis spp. [ 7 ], whereas I. simplex on Miniopterus schreibersii [ 5 ] and I. kopsteini on Molossidae [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High degree of mitochondrial gene heterogeneity in the bat tick species Ixodes vespertilionis, I. ariadnae and I. simplex from Eurasia

et al. 2015

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BackgroundPhylogeographical studies allow precise genetic comparison of specimens, which were collected over large geographical ranges and belong to the same or closely related animal species. These methods have also been used to compare ticks of veterinary-medical importance. However, relevant data are missing in the case of ixodid ticks of bats, despite (1) the vast geographical range of both Ixodes vespertilionis and Ixodes simplex, and (2) the considerable uncertainty in their taxonomy, which is currently unresolvable by morphological clues.MethodsIn the present study 21 ticks were selected from collections or were freshly removed from bats or cave walls in six European and four Asian countries. The DNA was extracted and PCRs were performed to amplify part of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI), 16S and 12S rDNA genes, followed by sequencing for identification and molecular-phylogenetic comparison.ResultsNo morphological differences were observed between Ixodes vespertilionis specimens from Spain and from other parts of Europe, but corresponding genotypes had only 94.6 % COI sequence identity. An I. vespertilionis specimen collected in Vietnam was different both morphologically and genetically (i.e. with only 84.1 % COI sequence identity in comparison with I. vespertilionis from Europe). Two ticks (collected in Vietnam and in Japan) formed a monophyletic clade and shared morphological features with I. ariadnae, recently described and hitherto only reported in Europe. In addition, two Asiatic specimens of I. simplex were shown to differ markedly from European genotypes of the same species. Phylogenetic relationships of ticks showed similar clustering patterns with those of their associated bat host species.ConclusionsAlthough all three ixodid bat tick species evaluated in the present study appear to be widespread in Eurasia, they exhibit pronounced genetic differences. Data of this study also reflect that I. vespertilionis may represent a species complex.

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The patterns of seasonal activity of Ixodes vespertilionis (Acari: Ixodidae) on Rhinolophus hipposideros in nursery colonies

Cited by 13 publications

References 24 publications

Bat ticks revisited: Ixodes ariadnae sp. nov. and allopatric genotypes of I. vespertilionis in caves of Hungary

Bat ticks revisited: Ixodes ariadnae sp. nov. and allopatric genotypes of I. vespertilionis in caves of Hungary

Ixodes ricinus and Its Transmitted Pathogens in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas in Europe: New Hazards and Relevance for Public Health

High degree of mitochondrial gene heterogeneity in the bat tick species Ixodes vespertilionis, I. ariadnae and I. simplex from Eurasia

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