Vertebrate Ticks Distribution and Their Role as Vectors in Relation to Road Edges and Underpasses.

Roads fragment vertebrate populations and affect the dynamics and dispersal patterns of vertebrate parasites. We evaluated how vertebrate ticks distribute near roads and road underpasses in human-caused road-fragmented landscapes in Seville, SW Spain. We sampled 49 stations with 93 individualized sampling points and assessed tick abundance. We explored the relationship between tick presence and abundance and distance to the nearest road and underpass (drainage culverts and other passages used by vertebrates), and landscape features through categorical regression and nonparametric statistics. The presence of the tick-borne pathogens Borrelia sp. and Bartonella sp. was also analyzed by PCR. We found preliminary evidence of high relative tick abundance next to roads and in the vicinity of road underpasses. Plant cover type was related to tick presence in this road context. Implications of road permeability and edge effect in patterns of vertebrate-tick relationships in road fragmentation contexts are discussed. Both Borrelia sp. and Bartonella sp. were detected in the ticks analyzed. This is the first report of these bacteria in ticks from Seville. The results confirm the potential risk of acquiring Lyme disease and bartonellosis in this area.

[1]  G. Hickling,et al.  High Prevalence of Borrelia miyamotoi among Adult Blacklegged Ticks from White-Tailed Deer , 2016, Emerging infectious diseases.

[2]  C. López,et al.  A genetic approach to the origin of Millepora sp. in the eastern Atlantic , 2015, Coral Reefs.

[3]  J. de la Fuente,et al.  The ecology of ticks and epidemiology of tick-borne viral diseases. , 2014, Antiviral research.

[4]  E. Breitschwerdt,et al.  Vector-borne diseases in client-owned and stray cats from Madrid, Spain. , 2012, Vector borne and zoonotic diseases.

[5]  H. Gil,et al.  Presence of Bartonella Species in Wild Carnivores of Northern Spain , 2011, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[6]  D. Otranto,et al.  Ixodid ticks of road-killed wildlife species in southern Italy: new tick-host associations and locality records , 2011, Experimental and Applied Acarology.

[7]  S. Randolph,et al.  Tick (Ixodes ricinus) abundance and seasonality at recreational sites in the UK: hazards in relation to fine-scale habitat types revealed by complementary sampling methods. , 2011, Ticks and tick-borne diseases.

[8]  P. Hancock,et al.  Modelling the effect of temperature variation on the seasonal dynamics of Ixodes ricinus tick populations. , 2011, International journal for parasitology.

[9]  Raphael K. Didham,et al.  Ecological Consequences of Habitat Fragmentation , 2010 .

[10]  H. Gil,et al.  Variability of Bartonella Genotypes among Small Mammals in Spain , 2010, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[11]  F. Ruiz-Fons,et al.  The role of deer as vehicles to move ticks, Ixodes ricinus, between contrasting habitats. , 2010, International journal for parasitology.

[12]  T. Hoch,et al.  Influence of host migration between woodland and pasture on the population dynamics of the tick Ixodes ricinus: A modelling approach , 2010 .

[13]  R. Lane,et al.  Horizontal and Vertical Movements of Host-Seeking Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae) Nymphs in a Hardwood Forest , 2009, Journal of vector ecology : journal of the Society for Vector Ecology.

[14]  L. Eisen.  Climate change and tick-borne diseases: A research field in need of long-term empirical field studies , 2008 .

[15]  J. Turčinavičienė,et al.  Diversity in prevalence and genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks and rodents in Lithuania and Norway , 2008 .

[16]  J. Bissonette,et al.  Response of carnivores to existing highway culverts and underpasses: implications for road planning and mitigation , 2008, Biodiversity and Conservation.

[17]  C. Gortázar,et al.  Seroprevalence of antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in wild canids in Spain , 2008, Veterinary Record.

[18]  T. Hartung,et al.  Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Genospecies in Ixodes ricinus Ticks in Europe: a Metaanalysis , 2005, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[19]  W. Reeves,et al.  Ectoparasites of road-killed vertebrates in northwestern South Carolina, USA. , 2005, Veterinary parasitology.

[20]  Julia A. Jones,et al.  Road Ecology: Science and Solutions , 2002 .

[21]  A. Clevenger,et al.  Drainage culverts as habitat linkages and factors affecting passage by mammals , 2001 .

[22]  D. Raoult,et al.  Use of rpoB Gene Analysis for Detection and Identification of Bartonella Species , 2001, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

[23]  C. Frissell,et al.  Review of Ecological Effects of Roads on Terrestrial and Aquatic Communities , 2000 .

[24]  R. Forman,et al.  ROADS AND THEIR MAJOR ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS , 1998 .

[25]  Richard S. Ostfeld,et al.  HABITAT HETEROGENEITY, DISPERSAL, AND LOCAL RISK OF EXPOSURE TO LYME DISEASE , 1998 .

[26]  B. Anderson,et al.  Bartonella spp. as emerging human pathogens , 1997, Clinical microbiology reviews.

[27]  M. Delibes,et al.  Use of Non-Wildlife Passages Across a High Speed Railway by Terrestrial Vertebrates , 1996 .

[28]  E. Schmidtmann,et al.  Dispersal of blacklegged tick (Acari:Ixodidae) nymphs and adults at the woods-pasture interface. , 1996, Journal of medical entomology.

[29]  R. Picken.  Polymerase chain reaction primers and probes derived from flagellin gene sequences for specific detection of the agents of Lyme disease and North American relapsing fever , 1992, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[30]  D. Fish,et al.  Horizontal movement of adult Ixodes dammini (Acari: Ixodidae) attracted to CO2-baited traps. , 1991, Journal of medical entomology.

[31]  W. McENROE.  The effect of automobile traffic on american dog tick distribution (Dermacentor variabilis, Say: Acarina, Ixodidae)☆ , 1971 .

[32]  A. Renwick,et al.  Host-parasite interactions in a fragmented landscape. , 2013, International journal for parasitology.

[33]  G Stanek,et al.  Lyme borreliosis: clinical case definitions for diagnosis and management in Europe. , 2011, Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

[34]  L. Gilbert.  Altitudinal patterns of tick and host abundance: a potential role for climate change in regulating tick-borne diseases? , 2009, Oecologia.

[35]  S. Randolph.  Ticks and tick-borne disease systems in space and from space. , 2000, Advances in parasitology.

[36]  Francisco Suárez,et al.  Permeability of roads and railways to vertebrates: The importance of culverts , 1995 .