Gap Analysis of the Habitat Interface of Ticks and Wildlife in Mexico.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Lopez Gonzalez CA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8708601 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Gap Analysis of the Habitat Interface of Ticks and Wildlife in Mexico.
López González Carlos A CA Hernández-Camacho Norma N Aguilar-Tipacamú Gabriela G Zamora-Ledesma Salvador S Olvera-Ramírez Andrea M AM Jones Robert W RW
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) 20211125 12
Mexico is a highly diverse country where ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBD) directly impact the health of humans and domestic and wild animals. Ticks of the genera <i>Rhipicephalus</i> spp., <i>Amblyomma</i> spp., and <i>Ixodes</i> spp. represent the most important species in terms of host parasitism and geographical distribution in the country, although information on other genera is either limited or null. In addition, information regarding the influence of global warming on the increase in t ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundTicks are increasingly acknowledged as significant vectors for a wide array of pathogens in urban environments with reports of abundant tick populations in recreational areas. The study aims to contribute to a better knowledge of the abiotic and biotic factors which impact the ecology of hard ticks in urban and peri-urban habitats in Romania.MethodsQuesting ticks were collected by flagging in seven recreational locations, from four types of habitats in Cluj-Napoca, Romania: parks; gardens; a cemetery; and peri-urban forests. Hedgehogs, birds and micromammals were also sampled and searched for ticks, using standard methods (i.e. torch-based searches, ornithological mist nets, snap-traps, etc.), while vegetation was evaluated on surveyed areas. Data on questing ticks were converted to abundance indices. Mood's median tests were used to assess the relationship between the abiotic and biotic factors and the abundance of questing ticks.ResultsTwo species of questing ticks were found: Ixodes ricinus (96.8%) and Haemaphysalis punctata (3.2%). Ixodes ricinus was also the predominant engorged tick collected from urban wildlife. For I. ricinus the highest mean total abundance index/location (total no. of ticks/100 m2) was recorded in the urban gardens (3.79, 95% CI: ± 1.59) and parks (2.68, 95% CI: ± 0.75), whereas the lowest mean total abundance index was noted in the peri-urban forests (0.06, 95% CI: ± 0.03) and the urban cemetery (0.04, 95% CI: ± 0.02). The adults and nymphs of I. ricinus displayed a bimodal activity pattern, while the larvae showed a unimodal questing behaviour with an autumnal peak. Positive correlations were found between the mean total abundance index and the rise in the daily mean temperature and relative humidity, and between the global abundance of questing ticks and the presence of hedgehogs in the respective locations (P < 0.01).ConclusionsTicks were collected in all the recreational sites surveyed in Cluj-Napoca. Ixodes ricinus was the dominant questing and engorged tick species. Several abiotic and biotic factors shape the ecology of ticks in Cluj-Napoca city, with climate and the local presence of suitable hosts being the most important.
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