The negative effect of wood ant presence on tick abundance.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Ticks and tick-borne pathogens are a global problem for the health of humans and their livestock. Wood ants are important ecosystem engineers in forests worldwide. Although both taxa are well studied, little is known about their interactions under natural conditions. The purpose of the present field study was to test whether European red wood ants (Formica polyctena) influence the abundance of Ixodes tick populations in temperate forests. METHODS:Data collection took place in 130 sampling plots located at 26 ant nest sites paired with 26 control sites in northwestern Switzerland. At each sampling plot, tick abundance, ant abundance, ant nest volume and habitat variables (describing litter, vegetation and microclimate) were measured. We used linear mixed-effect models to analyze

SUBMITTER: Zingg S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5852968 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature