Analysis of ticks (Acari: Ixodida) and associated microorganisms collected on the North Sea Island of Heligoland.

ABSTRACT: Heligoland is an island located in the North Sea, where vegetation was almost destroyed as a result of heavy bombardment during and after the Second World War. However, over the past 70 years, the vegetation has developed from scrub towards bushy or even forested environments. This change has most likely altered habitat suitability for various organisms, including many species of ticks. Ticks can act as major vectors for various pathogens of humans and animals; thus, characterizing the occurrence of a tick population and associated microorganism on the island is of great importance in relation to public and animal health. For this characterization on Heligoland, we flagged ticks at four different locations during June 2023 and 2024. In 2024, ticks were opportunistically sampled from house

SUBMITTER: Rollins RE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11914315 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature