Validating a common tick survey method: cloth-dragging and line transects
| Autor: | Malin Aronsson, Petter Kjellander, Madeleine Christensson, Per-Eric Lindgren, P. Kjellander, Ulrika A. Bergvall, Josep L. Carrasco, Mikael Åkesson |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Nymph
Ixodes ricinus Intraclass correlation Coefficient of variation 030231 tropical medicine Biology Tick 01 natural sciences Article Total deviation index Paparres 010104 statistics & probability 03 medical and health sciences Dragging 0302 clinical medicine Ticks Abundance (ecology) Surveys and Questionnaires Statistics Validation Animals Repeatability 0101 mathematics Transect Sweden Ekologi Ixodes Ecology Reproducibility of Results General Medicine biology.organism_classification Teixits (Indústria tèxtil) Animal ecology Insect Science Seasons Textile fabrics |
| Zdroj: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB Universidad de Barcelona Experimental & Applied Acarology |
| Popis: | Cloth-dragging is the most widely-used method for collecting and counting ticks, but there are few studies of its reliability. By using cloth-dragging, we applied a replicated line transects survey method, in two areas in Sweden with different Ixodes ricinus tick-densities (low at Grimsö and high at Bogesund) to evaluate developmental stage specific repeatability, agreement and precision in estimates of tick abundance. ‘Repeatability’ was expressed as the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), ‘agreement’ with the Total Deviation Index (TDI) and ‘precision’ by the coefficient of variation (CV) for a given dragging distance. Repeatability (ICC) and agreement (TDI) were higher for the most abundant instar (nymphs) and in the area of higher abundance. At Bogesund tick counts were higher than at Grimsö and so also repeatability, with fair to substantial ICC estimates between 0.22 and 0.75, and TDI ranged between 1 and 44.5 counts of difference (thus high to moderate agreement). At Grimsö, ICC was poor to moderate and ranged between 0 and 0.59, whereas TDI remained low with estimates lower or equal to 1 count (thus high agreement). Despite a 100-fold lower abundance at Grimsö, the same level of precision for nymphs could be achieved with a 70% increase of dragging effort. We conclude that the cloth-dragging technique is useful for surveying ticks’ and primarily to estimate abundance of the nymphal stage, whereas it rarely will be recommended for larvae and adults. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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