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High tick abundance and diversity of tick-borne pathogens in a Finnish city
<p>The sheep tick Ixodes ricinus is
the primary vector for various zoonotic diseases, including Lyme
borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), in Europe. Because both
abundance of ticks and prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in these
organisms have increased in many locations and under different
environments, we designed a study to survey the occurrence of ticks and
pathogens in an urban area, namely, the city of Turku, in SW Finland. In
summer 2017, we collected >700 ticks, primarily from city parks,
suburban forest patches, and recreational areas. Comprehensive subsets
of ticks were screened for presence of all common tick-borne pathogens.
Half of the ticks carried at least one pathogen. The most common
pathogens detected were the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis, i.e.,
bacteria belonging to the Borrelia burgdorferi
sensu lato group. Their prevalence was 37% in nymphal and 47% in adult
ticks, which are high in comparison with surveys conducted elsewhere in
northern Europe. Similarly, Rickettsia spp. (primarily R. helvetica)
were also detected in a relatively high proportion of the samples (11%
of both nymphs and adults). The TBE virus was not found in a relatively
small subsample, but we detected (albeit at a low prevalence of 0–6% of
nymphs and adults) the bacterial pathogens Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis and the protozoan Babesia
spp., which are also known agents of zoonotic diseases. The relatively
high abundance of ticks and high diversity and overall prevalence of
tick-borne pathogens suggest a lively and dense presence of mammalian
and avian tick hosts in the city. Our results indicate a higher risk of
encountering tick-borne pathogens in urbanized areas of southern Finland
than previously known. Moreover, the possibility of acquiring
tick-borne diseases from urban environments likely exists throughout
most of Europe, and it should be acknowledged by health care
professionals.</p>...
Monitoring of ticks and tick-borne pathogens through a nationwide research station network in Finland
In 2015 a long-term, nationwide tick and tick-borne pathogen (TBP) monitoring project was started by the Finnish Tick Project and the Finnish Research Station network (RESTAT), with the goal of producing temporally and ...
First evidence of Ixodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) parasitization in Finnish castor bean ticks (Ixodes ricinus)
<p>Ixodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera:
Encyrtidae) is a parasitoid wasp specialized in parasitizing the larvae
and nymphs of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). As parasitized ticks die prior to
reproduction, I. hookeri is seen
as a prime biological control agent candidate. Despite this, little is
known of their occurrence or ecology in northern Europe. The main aim of
the current study was to determine whether adult wasps or parasitized
ticks can be found from a tick-infested island in southwestern Finland,
using field collections and molecular methods. Following the initial
discovery of an adult I. hookeri
female on Seili Island, we set out to collect further specimens via
sweep netting and Malaise trappings between May and October 2017.
Furthermore, 1310 Ixodes ricinus (1220 nymphs, 90 adults) collected from the island during 2012–2014 were screened for I. hookeri DNA using qPCR. Whereas no further wasp specimens could be collected via sweep netting or Malaise trappings, I. hookeri DNA was consistently detected in I. ricinus
nymphs (annual minimum infection rates in 2012, 2013, and 2014: 2.3,
0.4, and 0.5%, respectively), whereas all adult samples were negative.
Although the annually repeated detections of parasitized ticks suggest
that the wasp inhabits the island, further field and molecular surveys
are needed to more comprehensively determine the status and stability of
the population.</p>...
Hiding in the background: community-level patterns in invertebrate herbivory across the tundra biome
<p>Invertebrate
herbivores depend on external temperature for growth and metabolism.
Continued warming in tundra ecosystems is proposed to result in
increased invertebrate herbivory. However, empirical data about how ...
Long-term data reveal the associations of the egg quality with abiotic factors and female traits in the Baltic Herring under variable environmental conditions
<p>In fish, the lipid resources of the female form a link between the environment and progeny, contributing to the contents of the egg yolk. Variation of the environmental conditions is therefore expected to affect the egg ...
A curated DNA barcode reference library for parasitoids of northern European cyclically outbreaking geometrid moths
Large areas of forests are annually damaged or destroyed by outbreaking insect pests. Understanding the factors that trigger and terminate such population eruptions has become crucially important, as plants, plant-feeding ...
Within-season changes in habitat use of forest-dwelling boreal bats
Bats utilize forests as roosting sites and feeding areas. However, it has not been documented how bats utilize these habitats in the boreal zone with methods afforded by recent technological advances. Forest structure and ...