High-resolution environmental and host-related factors impacting questing Ixodes scapularis at their northern range edge.

ABSTRACT: The geographic range of tick populations has expanded in Canada due to climate warming and the associated poleward range shifts of their vertebrate hosts. Abiotic factors, such as temperature, precipitation, and snow, are known to directly affect tick abundance. Yet, biotic factors, such as the abundance and diversity of mammal hosts, may also alter tick abundance and consequent tick-borne disease risk. Here, we incorporated host surveillance data with high-resolution environmental data to evaluate the combined impact of abiotic and biotic factors on questing Ixodes scapularis abundance in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. High-resolution abiotic factors were derived from remote sensing satellites and meteorological towers, while biotic factors related to mammal hosts were derived from ac

SUBMITTER: Crandall KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10879908 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature