Species delimitation of the Dermacentor ticks based on phylogenetic clustering and niche modeling.

ABSTRACT: Three species belonging to the genus Dermacentor (Acari: Ixodidae), D. marginatus, D. nuttalli and D. silvarum are well known as vectors for a great variety of infection pathogens. All three of them are host ticks, which are very similar in morphology characteristics, life cycle, seasonal variation and ecological conditions, making it difficult to distinguish the three species. In the present study, these three species were delimitated based on molecular data and ecological niche. The molecular analysis showed that the three species can be distinguished by COI and ITS2 sequences. We created future potential distribution maps for the three species under climate changes with MaxEnt, which highlighted the different levels of the suitable habitats for each tick spec

SUBMITTER: Wang F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6512763 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature