Abstract
Changes in tick distribution and abundance are among the main drivers of the (re)emergence of transmitted pathogens. We aimed to uncover the reasons of the reported spread of Dermacentor reticulatus in Poland using a variety of proxies of environmental features, ground-measured temperature and remotely-sensed data of temperature and vegetation. Ground-measured temperature was recorded in 2013–2014, in sites where D. reticulatus presence (n = 16) or absence (n = 16) was confirmed. We specifically aimed to test whether changes in phenology of vegetation and the length of the growing season were correlated with field-derived data regarding the presence/absence of D. reticulatus. We also used categorical descriptions of the habitat to capture the vegetation patterns that might delineate the distribution of the tick. We demonstrated that temperature, phenology of vegetation and length of growing season have no correlation with the occurrence of D. reticulatus in Poland. There is, however, a clear association between the trends of the loss of forests and the presence of the tick. This parameter was two times higher at sites colonized by D. reticulatus in comparison to the sites where the population of the tick is not yet established. A spatial analysis demonstrated that the preferred territories for D. reticulatus are those of a highly fragmented landscape within a large patch of homogeneous vegetation, in the vicinity of permanent water courses or reservoirs.
Highlights
The emergence and re-emergence of tick-borne diseases (TBDs) pose a significant threat to both human and animal health (Jongejan and Uilenberg 2004; Solano-Gallego and Baneth 2011; Bajer et al 2014)
We aimed to uncover the reasons of the reported spread of Dermacentor reticulatus in Poland using a variety of proxies of environmental features, ground-measured temperature and remotely-sensed data of temperature and vegetation
Phenology of vegetation and length of growing season have no correlation with the occurrence of D. reticulatus in Poland
Summary
The emergence and re-emergence of tick-borne diseases (TBDs) pose a significant threat to both human and animal health (Jongejan and Uilenberg 2004; Solano-Gallego and Baneth 2011; Bajer et al 2014). It is vital to capture the environmental features to which ticks are associated, given that the presence of probable suitable foci and spread of a particular tick species to non-endemic regions, could be modelled based on the features of preferred habitats (Kalluri et al 2007; Eisen and Eisen 2008). For this purpose remotely-sensed (RS) data available on relatively long time scales have been used. These measures have been extensively used in the modelling of epidemiological risk related to ticks feeding on humans (Ogden et al 2005; Hoch et al 2010; Hancock et al 2011)
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