The phenology of ticks and the effects of long-term prescribed burning on tick population dynamics in southwestern Georgia and northwestern Florida
| Autor: | Michael Levin, Galina E. Zemtsova, Michael J. Yabsley, Roy D. Berghaus, Elizabeth R. Gleim, L. Mike Conner |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: |
Disease Ecology
Georgia Arthropoda Ixodidae Epidemiology Animal Types Population Population Dynamics lcsh:Medicine Tick Wildlife Disease Vectors Fires Host-Parasite Interactions Amblyomma americanum Ticks Arachnida Medicine and Health Sciences Animals Amblyomma maculatum Tick Control Public and Occupational Health Dermacentor variabilis education lcsh:Science Dermacentor education.field_of_study Multidisciplinary biology Ixodes Ecology Prescribed burn lcsh:R Organisms Biology and Life Sciences biology.organism_classification Invertebrates Tick Infestations Ixodes scapularis Florida Veterinary Science lcsh:Q Seasons Research Article |
| Zdroj: | PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 11, p e112174 (2014) PLoS ONE |
| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
| Popis: | Some tick populations have increased dramatically in the past several decades leading to an increase in the incidence and emergence of tick-borne diseases. Management strategies that can effectively reduce tick populations while better understanding regional tick phenology is needed. One promising management strategy is prescribed burning. However, the efficacy of prescribed burning as a mechanism for tick control is unclear because past studies have provided conflicting data, likely due to a failure of some studies to simulate operational management scenarios and/or account for other predictors of tick abundance. Therefore, our study was conducted to increase knowledge of tick population dynamics relative to long-term prescribed fire management. Furthermore, we targeted a region, southwestern Georgia and northwestern Florida (USA), in which little is known regarding tick dynamics so that basic phenology could be determined. Twenty-one plots with varying burn regimes (burned surrounded by burned [BB], burned surrounded by unburned [BUB], unburned surrounded by burned [UBB], and unburned surrounded by unburned [UBUB]) were sampled monthly for two years while simultaneously collecting data on variables that can affect tick abundance (e.g., host abundance, vegetation structure, and micro- and macro-climatic conditions). In total, 47,185 ticks were collected, of which, 99% were Amblyomma americanum, 0.7% were Ixodes scapularis, and fewer numbers of Amblyomma maculatum, Ixodes brunneus, and Dermacentor variabilis. Monthly seasonality trends were similar between 2010 and 2011. Long-term prescribed burning consistently and significantly reduced tick counts (overall and specifically for A. americanum and I. scapularis) regardless of the burn regimes and variables evaluated. Tick species composition varied according to burn regime with A. americanum dominating at UBUB, A. maculatum at BB, I. scapularis at UBB, and a more even composition at BUB. These data indicate that regular prescribed burning is an effective tool for reducing tick populations and ultimately may reduce risk of tick-borne disease. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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