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The geographic distribution and ecological preferences of the A merican dog tick, D ermacentor variabilis ( S ay), in the U.S.A.
Author(s) -
JAMES A. M.,
BURDETT C.,
MCCOOL M. J.,
FOX A.,
RIGGS P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
medical and veterinary entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2915
pISSN - 0269-283X
DOI - 10.1111/mve.12099
Subject(s) - dermacentor variabilis , tick , biology , ixodidae , amblyomma , habitat , ecology , zoology , veterinary medicine , medicine
Equine piroplasmosis ( EP ), caused by two parasitic organisms, T heileria equi and B abesia caballi , is a tick‐borne disease of recent concern in horses in the U.S.A. Outbreaks of EP have been detected in F lorida, M issouri, K ansas and T exas. In 2009, EP transmission in T exas occurred through the adults of two tick species, A mblyomma mixtum [formerly known as A mblyomma cajennense (Fabricius, 1787)] K och (Ixodida: I xodidae) and D ermacentor variabilis ( S ay) (Ixodida: I xodidae), the A merican dog tick ( ADT ). In this study, we developed a continent‐scale map for the distribution of the EP vector species D . variabilis , using a presence‐only modelling approach to assess the habitat preferences of this tick. We used identification records from our tick geodatabase of locations in which the presence of the ADT had been noted. The potential distribution of the ADT in the U.S.A. was estimated from environmental factors using the maximum entropy approach based on localities in which there is a high probability of occurrence according to habitat suitability. Elevation and temperature were found to be biologically significant environmental variables influencing the presence of this tick species. Properly designed and constructed probability surfaces using maximum entropy offer one useful approach to the mapping of distribution ranges of tick species based on suitable habitat in the U.S.A.