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The abundance of Ixodes ricinus ticks depends on tree species composition and shrub cover

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2012

W. TACK ,
M. MADDER ,
L. BAETEN ,
P. DE FRENNE  and
K. VERHEYEN
W. TACK*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Forestry, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
M. MADDER
Affiliation:
Unit of Vector Biology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa
L. BAETEN
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Forestry, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Melle-Gontrode, Belgium Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
P. DE FRENNE
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Forestry, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Melle-Gontrode, Belgium Forest Ecology and Conservation Group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
K. VERHEYEN
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Forestry, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
*
*Corresponding author: Laboratory of Forestry, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Melle-Gontrode, Belgium. Tel: +32 (0) 9 264 90 30. Fax: +32 (0) 9 264 90 92. E-mail: Wesley.Tack@UGent.be
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Summary

The mainstream forestry policy in many European countries is to convert coniferous plantations into (semi-natural) deciduous woodlands. However, woodlands are the main habitat for Ixodes ricinus ticks. Therefore, assessing to what extent tick abundance and infection with Borrelia spirochetes are affected by forest composition and structure is a prerequisite for effective prevention of Lyme borreliosis. We selected a total of 25 pine and oak stands, both with and without an abundant shrub layer, in northern Belgium and estimated tick abundance between April and October 2008–2010. Additionally, the presence of deer beds was used as an indicator of relative deer habitat use. Borrelia infections in questing nymphs were determined by polymerase chain reactions. The abundance of larvae, nymphs, and adults was higher in oak stands compared to pine stands and increased with increasing shrub cover, most likely due to differences in habitat use by the ticks' main hosts. Whereas tick abundance was markedly higher in structure-rich oak stands compared to homogeneous pine stands, the Borrelia infection rates in nymphs did not differ significantly. Our results indicate that conversion towards structure-rich deciduous forests might create more suitable tick habitats, but we were unable to detect an effect on the infection rate.

Keywords

Ixodes ricinusBorrelia burgdorferitickroe deerhabitatforest conversion
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 139 , Issue 10 , September 2012 , pp. 1273 - 1281
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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