Seasonal activity of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in the era of progressive climate change in eastern Poland

Zbigniew Zając,Joanna Kulisz,Katarzyna Bartosik,Adil Khan,Aneta Woźniak

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99929-y

Zbigniew Zając, Joanna Kulisz + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99929-y

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Abstract

Dermacentor reticulatus ticks are one of the most important vectors and reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens in Europe. Changes in the abundance and range of this species have been observed in the last decade and these ticks are collected in areas previously considered tick-free. This may be influenced by progressive climate change. Eastern Poland is an area where the local population of D. reticulatus is one of the most numerous among those described so far. At the same time, the region is characterized by a significant increase in the mean air temperature in recent years (by 1.81 °C in 2020) and a decrease in the average number of days with snow cover (by 64 days in 2020) and in the number of days with frost (by 20 days in 2020) on an annual basis compared to the long-term average. The aim of our research was to investigate the rhythms of seasonal activity and the population size of D. reticulatus in the era of progressive climate change. To this end, questing ticks were collected in 2017–2020. Next, the weather conditions in the years of observation were analyzed and compared with multi-year data covering 30 years preceding the study. The research results show that, in eastern Poland, there is a stable population of D. reticulatus with the peak of activity in spring or autumn (up to a maximum of 359 individuals within 30 min of collection) depending on the year of observation. Ticks of this species may also be active in winter months. The activity of D. reticulatus is influenced by a saturation deficit.

Highlights

Dermacentor reticulatus ticks, along with D. marginatus and Ixodes ricinus, are the most widely distributed tick species in Europe[1,2]
In the years of the study on the activity of D. reticulatus, the mean annual air temperature ranged from 8.4 °C to 9.8 °C (Table 1)
The increase in the number of local populations of these arthropods observed in recent years in many European countries, e.g. in the Baltic states32, Poland[19,20,21,33], and Germany[34,35], or the emergence of new species of ticks in areas previously considered tick-free[36,37] contributes to an increase in the epidemic threat and the risk of transmission of new or sporadically existing tick-borne p athogens[38,39]

Summary

Introduction

Dermacentor reticulatus ticks, along with D. marginatus and Ixodes ricinus, are the most widely distributed tick species in Europe[1,2]. The changes in the distribution range of D. reticulatus observed in recent years, the number of local populations of this species, and the changes in the dynamics of their seasonal activity are most likely the result of a number of factors, mainly including the progressive warming of the climate[1,8,22]. Climate warming contributes to an increase in the range of potential tick hosts, primarily by increasing their range towards the north[27] It influences the characteristics of agricultural crops, and largely contributes to extension of fallow lands, creating ecological types of habitats preferred by D. reticulatus[28,29]

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