The Impact of Host Abundance on the Epidemiology of Tick-Borne Infection

O’Neill, Xander; White, Andy; Gortázar, Christian; Ruiz‐Fons, Francisco

doi:10.1007/s11538-023-01133-8

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 62 publications

(101 reference statements)

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“…This model complements studies e.g. [44,45,46] by incorporating temperaturedependent vector developmental stages, host-vector interactions, and the influence of host movement on tick species characterized by passive host-seeking behaviour, exemplified by Ixodes ricinus. Our model's uniqueness lies in its ability to encompass the entire tick life cycle, representing development as a temperature-dependent process and the sole interaction between vector and host through blood meals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Towards a Generic Agent Based Vector-Host Model

Chenaoui,

Marilleau,

Miled

2023

Preprint

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The aim of our work is to develop a conceptual generic agent-based model to formalize the interaction of vector and host given climate change. The model consists in creating a hypothetical example of a vector-host system. It simulates the vector's life cycle while considering interactions with hosts and the temperature. It is presented following the ODD protocol and based on parameters and processes to conceptualize the vector-host complexity. It could accommodate a broad spectrum of vector species and different biogeographic regions. Our model can be extended to more ecologically complex systems with multiple species and real-world landscape complexity to test different host and / or vector-targeted control strategies and identify practical approaches to managing vector population and movement patterns.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Towards a Generic Agent Based Vector-Host Model

Chenaoui,

Marilleau,

Miled

2023

Preprint

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“…In addition, reports of its presence in Canadian provinces include Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario [8]. In many vector models [9][10][11][12], climate and anthropogenic environmental changes are critical interacting drivers of tick range expansion, e.g., by making habitats more amenable, or altering host density and distribution [2, [13][14][15][16][17]. In A. americanum, shifts in land use and host population densities may be the critical drivers of expansion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The microbiota of Amblyomma americanum reflects known westward expansion

Martinez-Villegas,

Lado,

Klompen

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Amblyomma americanum, a known vector of multiple tick-borne pathogens, has expanded its geographic distribution across the United States in the past decades. Tick microbiomes may play a role shaping their host’s life history and vectorial capacity. Bacterial communities associated with A. americanum may reflect, or enable, geographic expansion and studying the microbiota will improve understanding of tick-borne disease ecology. We examined the microbiota structure of 189 adult ticks collected in four regions encompassing their historical and current geographic distribution. Both geographic region of origin and sex were significant predictors of alpha diversity. As in other tick models, within-sample diversity was low and uneven given the presence of dominant endosymbionts. Beta diversity analyses revealed that bacterial profiles of ticks of both sexes collected in the West were significantly different from those of the Historic range. Biomarkers were identified for all regions except the historical range. In addition, Bray-Curtis dissimilarities overall increased with distance between sites. Relative quantification of ecological processes showed that, for females and males, respectively, drift and dispersal limitation were the primary drivers of community assembly. Collectively, our findings highlight how microbiota structural variance discriminates the western-expanded populations of A. americanum ticks from the Historical range. Spatial autocorrelation, and particularly the detection of non-selective ecological processes, are indicative of geographic isolation. We also found that prevalence of Ehrlichia chaffeensis, E. ewingii, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum ranged from 3.40–5.11% and did not significantly differ by region. Rickettsia rickettsii was absent from our samples. Our conclusions demonstrate the value of synergistic analysis of biogeographic and microbial ecology data in investigating range expansion in A. americanum and potentially other tick vectors as well.

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“…In addition, reports of its presence in Canadian provinces include Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario (8). In many vector models (9)(10)(11)(12), climate and anthropogenic environmental changes are critical interacting drivers of tick range expansion, e.g., by making habitats more amenable, or altering host density and distribution (2,(13)(14)(15)(16)(17). In A. americanum, shifts in land use and host population densities may be the critical drivers of expansion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The microbiota ofAmblyomma americanumreflects known westward expansion

Villegas¹,

Lado

Klompen

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Amblyomma americanum, a known vector of multiple tick-borne pathogens, has expanded its geographic distribution across the United States in the past decades. Tick microbiomes may play a role shaping their host′s life history and vectorial capacity. Bacterial communities associated withA. americanummay reflect, or enable, geographic expansion and studying the microbiota will improve understanding of tick-borne disease ecology. We examined the microbiota structure of 189 adult ticks collected in four regions encompassing their historical and current geographic distribution. Both geographic region of origin and sex were significant predictors of alpha diversity. As in other tick models, within-sample diversity was low and uneven given the presence of dominant endosymbionts. Beta diversity analyses revealed that bacterial profiles of ticks of both sexes collected in the West were significantly different from those of the Historic range. Biomarkers were identified for all regions except the historical range. In addition, Bray-Curtis dissimilarities overall increased with distance between sites. Relative quantification of ecological processes showed that, for females and males, respectively, drift and dispersal limitation were the primary drivers of community assembly. Collectively, our findings highlight how microbiota structural variance discriminates the western-expanded populations ofA. americanumticks from the Historical range. Spatial autocorrelation, and particularly the detection of non-selective ecological processes, are indicative of geographic isolation. Our conclusions demonstrate the value of synergistic analysis of biogeographic and microbial ecology data in investigating range expansion inA. americanumand potentially other tick vectors as well.

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The Impact of Host Abundance on the Epidemiology of Tick-Borne Infection

Cited by 9 publications

References 62 publications

Towards a Generic Agent Based Vector-Host Model

Towards a Generic Agent Based Vector-Host Model

The microbiota of Amblyomma americanum reflects known westward expansion

The microbiota ofAmblyomma americanumreflects known westward expansion

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