Ensemble Models for Tick Vectors: Standard Surveys Compared with Convenience Samples.

ABSTRACT: Ensembles of Species Distribution Models (SDMs) represent the geographic ranges of pathogen vectors by combining alternative analytical approaches and merging information on vector occurrences with more extensive environmental data. Biased collection data impact SDMs, regardless of the target species, but no studies have compared the differences in the distributions predicted by the ensemble models when different sampling frameworks are used for the same species. We compared Ensemble SDMs for two important Ixodid tick vectors, Amblyomma americanum and Ixodes scapularis in mainland Florida, USA, when inputs were either convenience samples of ticks, or collections obtained using the standard protocols promulgated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Ensem

SUBMITTER: Kessler WH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9222110 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature