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  1. Article ; Online: Density dependence of daily activity in three ungulate species

    Juan Ignacio Ramirez / Joeri A. Zwerts / Marijke vanKuijk / Palma Iacobelli / Xuqing Li / Natalie Herdoiza / Patrick A. Jansen

    Ecology and Evolution, Vol 11, Iss 12, Pp 7390-

    2021  Volume 7398

    Abstract: Abstract Daily activity in herbivores reflects a balance between finding food and safety. The safety‐in‐numbers theory predicts that living in higher population densities increases safety, which should affect this balance. High‐density populations are ... ...

    Abstract Abstract Daily activity in herbivores reflects a balance between finding food and safety. The safety‐in‐numbers theory predicts that living in higher population densities increases safety, which should affect this balance. High‐density populations are thus expected to show a more even distribution of activity—that is, spread—and higher activity levels across the day. We tested these predictions for three ungulate species; red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and wild boar (Sus scrofa). We used camera traps to measure the level and spread of activity across ten forest sites at the Veluwe, the Netherlands, that widely range in ungulate density. Food availability and hunting levels were included as covariates. Daily activity was more evenly distributed when population density was higher for all three species. Both deer species showed relatively more feeding activity in broad daylight and wild boar during dusk. Activity level increased with population density only for wild boar. Food availability and hunting showed no correlation with activity patterns. These findings indicate that ungulate activity is to some degree density dependent. However, while these patterns might result from larger populations feeling safer as the safety‐in‐numbers theory states, we cannot rule out that they are the outcome of greater intraspecific competition for food, forcing animals to forage during suboptimal times of the day. Overall, this study demonstrates that wild ungulates adjust their activity spread and level based on their population size.
    Keywords behavior ; camera traps ; food availability ; hunting ; landscape of fear ; safety‐in‐numbers ; Ecology ; QH540-549.5
    Subject code 590
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-06-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Wiley
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  2. Article ; Online: Quantifying the Availability of Vertebrate Hosts to Ticks

    Tim R. Hofmeester / J. Marcus Rowcliffe / Patrick A. Jansen

    Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Vol

    A Camera-Trapping Approach

    2017  Volume 4

    Abstract: The availability of vertebrate hosts is a major determinant of the occurrence of ticks and tick-borne zoonoses in natural and anthropogenic ecosystems and thus drives disease risk for wildlife, livestock, and humans. However, it remains challenging to ... ...

    Abstract The availability of vertebrate hosts is a major determinant of the occurrence of ticks and tick-borne zoonoses in natural and anthropogenic ecosystems and thus drives disease risk for wildlife, livestock, and humans. However, it remains challenging to quantify the availability of vertebrate hosts in field settings, particularly for medium-sized to large-bodied mammals. Here, we present a method that uses camera traps to quantify the availability of warm-bodied vertebrates to ticks. The approach is to deploy camera traps at questing height at a representative sample of random points across the study area, measure the average photographic capture rate for vertebrate species, and then correct these rates for the effective detection distance. The resulting “passage rate” is a standardized measure of the frequency at which vertebrates approach questing ticks, which we show is proportional to contact rate. A field test across twenty 1-ha forest plots in the Netherlands indicated that this method effectively captures differences in wildlife assemblage composition between sites. Also, the relative abundances of three life stages of the sheep tick Ixodes ricinus from drag sampling were correlated with passage rates of deer, which agrees with the known association with this group of host species, suggesting that passage rate effectively reflects the availability of medium- to large-sized hosts to ticks. This method will facilitate quantitative studies of the relationship between densities of questing ticks and the availability of different vertebrate species—wild as well as domesticated species—in natural and anthropogenic settings.
    Keywords contact rate ; forest wildlife ; gas theory ; tick-borne disease ; passage rate ; host availability ; Veterinary medicine ; SF600-1100
    Subject code 590
    Language English
    Publishing date 2017-07-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  3. Article: Long-term effects of wild ungulates on the structure, composition and succession of temperate forests

    Ramirez, J. Ignacio / Patrick A. Jansen / Jan den Ouden / Leo Goudzwaard / Lourens Poorter

    Forest ecology and management. 2019 Jan. 15, v. 432

    2019  

    Abstract: Ungulates in temperate regions are increasing in range and abundance, leading to concerns that browsing and trampling reach levels that hamper tree recruitment and forest regeneration. However, studies that actually quantify the long-term effects of ... ...

    Abstract Ungulates in temperate regions are increasing in range and abundance, leading to concerns that browsing and trampling reach levels that hamper tree recruitment and forest regeneration. However, studies that actually quantify the long-term effects of ungulates on forest succession are scarce. Here, we use a chronosequence of ungulate exclosures (fenced) and control (unfenced) plots to assess the long-term effects of ungulates on forest structure, diversity and litter depth in forests on poor sandy soils at the Veluwe, the Netherlands, which have moderate ungulate densities (x¯ = 13.6 ungulates km−2). We surveyed the vegetation in 27 paired fenced and unfenced plots that ranged from 1 to 33 years old, and measured seven variables to characterize forest structure (stem density, canopy cover and understory vegetation cover), composition (Shannon diversity, species richness and conifer proportion) and leaf litter depth. We found on average that fencing compared to unfencing reduced understory vegetation cover (fenced = 64.3 ± 20.2%, unfenced = 80.3 ± 19.4%), increased canopy cover (fenced = 47.4 ± 30.1%, unfenced = 29.3 ± 21.1%), tree species richness (fenced = 4.5 ± 1.3 spp., unfenced = 2.7 ± 1.2 spp.), tree Shannon diversity (fenced = 1.1 ± 0.3 index, unfenced = 0.7 ± 0.3 index) and litter layer depth (fenced = 4.4 ± 1.4 cm, unfenced = 2.4 ± 1.1 cm). While fenced plots developed woody vegetation with palatable broadleaved species such as Betula pendula, Betula pubescens, Prunus serotina, and Quercus robur, unfenced plots were not associated with any particular tree species. Our results show that current ungulate densities in this system have pronounced long-term effects on forest structure, composition and litter depth, implying that ungulates can slow down natural succession of temperate forest, from light demanding to shade tolerant species, by keeping the system in an arrested state consisting of light demanding species.
    Keywords Betula pendula ; Betula pubescens ; Prunus serotina ; Quercus robur ; browsing ; canopy ; chronosequences ; conifers ; forest regeneration ; forest succession ; long term effects ; plant litter ; sandy soils ; species recruitment ; species richness ; temperate forests ; temperate zones ; trampling damage ; trees ; understory ; ungulates ; vegetation cover ; Netherlands
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2019-0115
    Size p. 478-488.
    Publishing place Elsevier B.V.
    Document type Article
    ZDB-ID 751138-3
    ISSN 0378-1127
    ISSN 0378-1127
    DOI 10.1016/j.foreco.2018.09.049
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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  4. Article: Local host-tick coextinction in neotropical forest fragments

    Esser, Helen J / Edward Allen Herre / Patrick A. Jansen / Roland Kays / Yorick Liefting

    International journal for parasitology. 2018 Aug. 02,

    2018  

    Abstract: Ticks are obligatory parasites with complex life cycles that often depend on larger bodied vertebrates as final hosts. These traits make them particularly sensitive to local coextinction with their host. Loss of wildlife abundance and diversity should ... ...

    Abstract Ticks are obligatory parasites with complex life cycles that often depend on larger bodied vertebrates as final hosts. These traits make them particularly sensitive to local coextinction with their host. Loss of wildlife abundance and diversity should thus lead to loss of tick abundance and diversity to the point where only generalist tick species remain. However, direct empirical tests of these hypotheses are lacking, despite their relevance to our understanding of tick-borne disease emergence in disturbed environments. Here, we compare vertebrate and tick communities across 12 forest islands and peninsulas in the Panama Canal that ranged 1000-fold in size (2.6–2811.3 ha). We used drag sampling and camera trapping to directly assess the abundance and diversity of communities of questing ticks and vertebrate hosts. We found that the abundance and species richness of ticks were positively related to those of wildlife. Specialist tick species were only present in fragments where their final hosts were found. Further, less diverse tick communities had a higher relative abundance of the generalist tick species Amblyomma oblongoguttatum, a potential vector of spotted fever group rickettsiosis. These findings support the host-parasite coextinction hypothesis, and indicate that loss of wildlife can indeed have cascading effects on tick communities. Our results also imply that opportunities for pathogen transmission via generalist ticks may be higher in habitats with degraded tick communities. If these patterns are general, then tick identities and abundances serve as useful bioindicators of ecosystem health, with low tick diversity reflecting low wildlife diversity and a potentially elevated risk of interspecific disease transmission via remaining host species and generalist ticks.
    Keywords Amblyomma ; camera trapping ; disease transmission ; environmental health ; fever ; habitat fragmentation ; habitats ; hosts ; rickettsial diseases ; risk ; species richness ; tick-borne diseases ; ticks ; tropical forests ; vertebrates ; wildlife ; Panama
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2018-0802
    Size p. .
    Publishing place Elsevier Ltd
    Document type Article
    Note Pre-press version
    ZDB-ID 120518-3
    ISSN 1879-0135 ; 0020-7519
    ISSN (online) 1879-0135
    ISSN 0020-7519
    DOI 10.1016/j.ijpara.2018.08.008
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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  5. Article ; Research data: (with research data) Cascading effects of defaunation on the coexistence of two specialized insect seed predators

    Peguero, Guille / Helene C. Muller‐Landau / Patrick A. Jansen / S. Joseph Wright

    journal of animal ecology. 2017 Jan., v. 86, no. 1

    2017  

    Abstract: Identification of the mechanisms enabling stable coexistence of species with similar resource requirements is a central challenge in ecology. Such coexistence can be facilitated by species at higher trophic levels through complex multi‐trophic ... ...

    Abstract Identification of the mechanisms enabling stable coexistence of species with similar resource requirements is a central challenge in ecology. Such coexistence can be facilitated by species at higher trophic levels through complex multi‐trophic interactions, a mechanism that could be compromised by ongoing defaunation. We investigated cascading effects of defaunation on Pachymerus cardo and Speciomerus giganteus, the specialized insect seed predators of the Neotropical palm Attalea butyracea, testing the hypothesis that vertebrate frugivores and granivores facilitate their coexistence. Laboratory experiments showed that the two seed parasitoid species differed strongly in their reproductive ecology. Pachymerus produced many small eggs that it deposited exclusively on the fruit exocarp (exterior). Speciomerus produced few large eggs that it deposited exclusively on the endocarp, which is normally exposed only after a vertebrate handles the fruit. When eggs of the two species were deposited on the same fruit, Pachymerus triumphed only when it had a long head start, and the loser always succumbed to intraguild predation. We collected field data on the fates of 6569 Attalea seeds across sites in central Panama with contrasting degrees of defaunation and wide variation in the abundance of vertebrate frugivores and granivores. Speciomerus dominated where vertebrate communities were intact, whereas Pachymerus dominated in defaunated sites. Variation in the relative abundance of Speciomerus across all 84 sampling sites was strongly positively related to the proportion of seeds attacked by rodents, an indicator of local vertebrate abundance. Synthesis. We show that two species of insect seed predators relying on the same host plant species are niche differentiated in their reproductive strategies such that one species has the advantage when fruits are handled promptly by vertebrates and the other when they are not. Defaunation disrupts this mediating influence of vertebrates and strongly favours one species at the expense of the other, providing a case study of the cascading effects of defaunation and its potential to disrupt coexistence of non‐target species, including the hyperdiverse phytophagous insects of tropical forests.
    Keywords Attalea ; case studies ; eggs ; endocarp ; exocarp ; frugivores ; granivores ; host plants ; laboratory experimentation ; Neotropics ; nontarget organisms ; parasitoids ; phytophagous insects ; predation ; rodents ; seeds ; trophic levels ; tropical forests ; Panama
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2017-01
    Size p. 136-146.
    Publishing place John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
    Document type Article ; Research data
    Note JOURNAL ARTICLE
    ZDB-ID 3024-7
    ISSN 1365-2656 ; 0021-8790 ; 0021-8790
    ISSN (online) 1365-2656
    ISSN 0021-8790
    DOI 10.1111/1365-2656.12590
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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  6. Article: Ecological succession drives the structural change of seed-rodent interaction networks in fragmented forests

    Yang, Xifu / Chuan Yan / Qingjian Zhao / Marcel Holyoak / Miguel A. Fortuna / Jordi Bascompte / Patrick A. Jansen / Zhibin Zhang

    Forest ecology and management. 2018 July 01, v. 419-420

    2018  

    Abstract: While deforestation and fragmentation can cause massive species loss in forest ecosystems, forest regeneration can also drive successional changes in species composition. Although studies have sometimes documented the effects of these compositional ... ...

    Abstract While deforestation and fragmentation can cause massive species loss in forest ecosystems, forest regeneration can also drive successional changes in species composition. Although studies have sometimes documented the effects of these compositional changes on interspecific interactions, few studies have investigated changes in the structure of plant-animal networks. We investigated how interaction networks of assemblages of rodents and tree seeds changed with forest fragmentation and succession in a subtropical region. We compared seed-rodent interactions between 14 secondary forest patches that ranged in area from 2 to 58 ha, and from 10 to at least 100 years old, representing a successional gradient. We expected that deforestation and fragmentation would reduce seed production and diversify rodent communities, resulting in higher interaction strengths and connectivity, but weak nestedness (i.e., specialists interact with subsets of the species interaction of generalists). We measured the frequency of rodents eating and removing seeds (interaction strength) in each patch during 3 successive years, using seed tagging and infrared camera trapping, and calculated the properties of the seed-rodent networks. We found that the relative abundances of seeds and rodents changed with stand age not patch size, as did seed-rodent interactions: older patches produced more seeds, contained fewer individuals and species of rodents, and had seed-rodent networks with lower connectance and interaction strength, but higher nestedness. Connectance and interaction strength decreased with metabolic per capita seed availability (as measured by seed energy value); nestedness increased with seed richness, but decreased with rodent abundance. At species level, we found stand age and patch size showed significant effects on seed or rodent abundance of a few species. We also found seed coat thickness and starch contents had significant effects on network metrics. Our results suggest that during succession after deforestation, seed-rodent interactions in these sub-tropical forests change from a state dominated by high seed removal and highly connected seed-rodent networks to a state with more seeds and highly nested networks. From a management perspective of our study region, succession age, not fragment size, and network structure should be paid more attention so as to facilitate the restoration processes of degraded forests. Rodent management should be applied to protect native forest species and exclude incursive ones from farmlands and human residences at early succession stage.
    Keywords agricultural land ; camera trapping ; deforestation ; ecological succession ; energy ; forest damage ; forest regeneration ; habitat fragmentation ; ingestion ; nestedness ; rodents ; secondary forests ; seed coat ; seeds ; species diversity ; stand age ; starch ; subtropics
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2018-0701
    Size p. 42-50.
    Publishing place Elsevier B.V.
    Document type Article
    ZDB-ID 751138-3
    ISSN 0378-1127
    ISSN 0378-1127
    DOI 10.1016/j.foreco.2018.03.023
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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  7. Article ; Online: Methods for wildlife monitoring in tropical forests

    Joeri A. Zwerts / P. J. Stephenson / Fiona Maisels / Marcus Rowcliffe / Christos Astaras / Patrick A. Jansen / Jaap van derWaarde / Liesbeth E. H. M. Sterck / Pita A. Verweij / Tom Bruce / Stephanie Brittain / Marijke vanKuijk

    Conservation Science and Practice, Vol 3, Iss 12, Pp n/a-n/a (2021)

    Comparing human observations, camera traps, and passive acoustic sensors

    2021  

    Abstract: Abstract Wildlife monitoring is essential for conservation science and data‐driven decision‐making. Tropical forests pose a particularly challenging environment for monitoring wildlife due to the dense vegetation, and diverse and cryptic species with ... ...

    Abstract Abstract Wildlife monitoring is essential for conservation science and data‐driven decision‐making. Tropical forests pose a particularly challenging environment for monitoring wildlife due to the dense vegetation, and diverse and cryptic species with relatively low abundances. The most commonly used monitoring methods in tropical forests are observations made by humans (visual or acoustic), camera traps, or passive acoustic sensors. These methods come with trade‐offs in terms of species coverage, accuracy and precision of population metrics, available technical expertise, and costs. Yet, there are no reviews that compare the characteristics of these methods in detail. Here, we comprehensively review the advantages and limitations of the three mentioned methods, by asking four key questions that are always important in relation to wildlife monitoring: (1) What are the target species?; (2) Which population metrics are desirable and attainable?; (3) What expertise, tools, and effort are required for species identification?; and (4) Which financial and human resources are required for data collection and processing? Given the diversity of monitoring objectives and circumstances, we do not aim to conclusively prescribe particular methods for all situations. Neither do we claim that any one method is superior to others. Rather, our review aims to support scientists and conservation practitioners in understanding the options and criteria that must be considered in choosing the appropriate method, given the objectives of their wildlife monitoring efforts and resources available. We focus on tropical forests because of their high conservation priority, although the information put forward is also relevant for other biomes.
    Keywords automated classification ; camera trapping ; evidence‐based conservation ; passive acoustic monitoring ; wildlife conservation ; wildlife monitoring methods ; Ecology ; QH540-549.5 ; General. Including nature conservation ; geographical distribution ; QH1-199.5
    Subject code 333
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Wiley
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  8. Article: Deer presence rather than abundance determines the population density of the sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus, in Dutch forests

    Hofmeester, TimR / Hein Sprong / Patrick A. Jansen / Herbert H. T. Prins / Sipke E. van Wieren

    Parasites & vectors. 2017 Dec., v. 10, no. 1

    2017  

    Abstract: BACKGROUND: Understanding which factors drive population densities of disease vectors is an important step in assessing disease risk. We tested the hypothesis that the density of ticks from the Ixodes ricinus complex, which are important vectors for tick- ...

    Abstract BACKGROUND: Understanding which factors drive population densities of disease vectors is an important step in assessing disease risk. We tested the hypothesis that the density of ticks from the Ixodes ricinus complex, which are important vectors for tick-borne diseases, is determined by the density of deer, as adults of these ticks mainly feed on deer. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study to investigate I. ricinus density across 20 forest plots in the Netherlands that ranged widely in deer availability to ticks, and performed a deer-exclosure experiment in four pairs of 1 ha forest plots in a separate site. RESULTS: Ixodes ricinus from all stages were more abundant in plots with deer (n = 17) than in plots without deer (n = 3). Where deer were present, the density of ticks did not increase with the abundance of deer. Experimental exclosure of deer reduced nymph density by 66% and adult density by 32% within a timeframe of two years. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, deer presence rather than abundance explained the density of I. ricinus. This is in contrast to previous studies and might be related to the relatively high host-species richness in Dutch forests. This means that reduction of the risk of acquiring a tick bite would require the complete elimination of deer in species rich forests. The fact that small exclosures (< 1 ha) substantially reduced I. ricinus densities suggests that fencing can be used to reduce tick-borne disease risk in areas with high recreational pressure.
    Keywords Ixodes ricinus ; adults ; cross-sectional studies ; deer ; disease vectors ; forests ; population density ; risk ; tick-borne diseases ; ticks ; Netherlands
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2017-12
    Size p. 433.
    Publishing place BioMed Central
    Document type Article
    ZDB-ID 2409480-8
    ISSN 1756-3305
    ISSN 1756-3305
    DOI 10.1186/s13071-017-2370-7
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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  9. Article ; Online: Implications of shared predation for space use in two sympatric leporids

    Martijn J. A. Weterings / Sophie P. Ewert / Jeffrey N. Peereboom / Henry J. Kuipers / Dries P. J. Kuijper / Herbert H. T. Prins / Patrick A. Jansen / Frank van Langevelde / Sipke E. van Wieren

    Ecology and Evolution, Vol 9, Iss 6, Pp 3457-

    2019  Volume 3469

    Abstract: Abstract Spatial variation in habitat riskiness has a major influence on the predator–prey space race. However, the outcome of this race can be modulated if prey shares enemies with fellow prey (i.e., another prey species). Sharing of natural enemies may ...

    Abstract Abstract Spatial variation in habitat riskiness has a major influence on the predator–prey space race. However, the outcome of this race can be modulated if prey shares enemies with fellow prey (i.e., another prey species). Sharing of natural enemies may result in apparent competition, and its implications for prey space use remain poorly studied. Our objective was to test how prey species spend time among habitats that differ in riskiness, and how shared predation modulates the space use by prey species. We studied a one‐predator, two‐prey system in a coastal dune landscape in the Netherlands with the European hare (Lepus europaeus) and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as sympatric prey species and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) as their main predator. The fine‐scale space use by each species was quantified using camera traps. We quantified residence time as an index of space use. Hares and rabbits spent time differently among habitats that differ in riskiness. Space use by predators and habitat riskiness affected space use by hares more strongly than space use by rabbits. Residence time of hare was shorter in habitats in which the predator was efficient in searching or capturing prey species. However, hares spent more time in edge habitat when foxes were present, even though foxes are considered ambush predators. Shared predation affected the predator–prey space race for hares positively, and more strongly than the predator–prey space race for rabbits, which were not affected. Shared predation reversed the predator–prey space race between foxes and hares, whereas shared predation possibly also released a negative association and promoted a positive association between our two sympatric prey species. Habitat riskiness, species presence, and prey species’ escape mode and foraging mode (i.e., central‐place vs. noncentral‐place forager) affected the prey space race under shared predation.
    Keywords alternative prey ; habitat characteristics ; habitat riskiness ; residence time ; space race ; vegetation structure ; Ecology ; QH540-549.5
    Subject code 590
    Language English
    Publishing date 2019-03-01T00:00:00Z
    Publisher Wiley
    Document type Article ; Online
    Database BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection)

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  10. Article: Host specificity in a diverse Neotropical tick community: an assessment using quantitative network analysis and host phylogeny

    Esser, Helen J / Edward Allen Herre / Nico Blüthgen / Jose R. Loaiza / Sergio E. Bermúdez / Patrick A. Jansen

    Parasites & vectors. 2016 Dec., v. 9, no. 1

    2016  

    Abstract: BACKGROUND: Host specificity is a fundamental determinant of tick population and pathogen transmission dynamics, and therefore has important implications for human health. Tick host specificity is expected to be particularly high in the tropics, where ... ...

    Abstract BACKGROUND: Host specificity is a fundamental determinant of tick population and pathogen transmission dynamics, and therefore has important implications for human health. Tick host specificity is expected to be particularly high in the tropics, where communities of ticks, hosts and pathogens are most diverse. Yet the degree to which tropical tick species are host-specific remains poorly understood. Combining new field data with published records, we assessed the specificity of tick-host associations in Panama, a diverse Neotropical region. METHODS: The resulting dataset includes 5,298 adult ticks belonging to 41 species of eight genera that were directly collected from 68 vertebrate host species of 17 orders. We considered three important aspects of tick host specificity: (i) the relative ecological importance of each host species (structural specificity); (ii) relatedness among host species (phylogenetic specificity); and (iii) spatial scale-dependence of tick-host relationships (geographical specificity). Applying quantitative network analyses and phylogenetic tools with null model comparisons, we assessed the structural and phylogenetic specificity across three spatial scales, ranging from central Panama to countrywide. Further, we tested whether species-rich tick genera parasitized a wider variety of hosts than species-poor genera, as expected when ticks specialize on different host species. RESULTS: Most tick species showed high structural and/or phylogenetic specificity in the adult stage. However, after correcting for sampling effort, we found little support for geographical specificity. Across the three scales, adult ticks tended to be specific to a limited number of host species that were phylogenetically closely related. These host species in turn, were parasitized by tick species from distinct genera, suggesting switching among distantly related hosts is common at evolutionary timescales. Further, there was a strong positive relationship between the taxonomic richness of the tick genera and that of their hosts, consistent with distinct tick species being relatively specific to different host species. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that in the adult stage, most ticks in the diverse Neotropical community studied are host specialists. This contrasts with earlier assessments, but agrees with findings from other host-parasite systems. High host specificity in adult ticks implies high susceptibility to local tick-host co-extirpation, limited ability to colonize new habitats and limited potential for interspecific pathogen transmission.
    Keywords adults ; data collection ; habitats ; host specificity ; hosts ; human health ; pathogens ; phylogeny ; ticks ; tropics ; vertebrates ; Panama
    Language English
    Dates of publication 2016-12
    Size p. 372.
    Publishing place BioMed Central
    Document type Article
    ZDB-ID 2409480-8
    ISSN 1756-3305
    ISSN 1756-3305
    DOI 10.1186/s13071-016-1655-6
    Database NAL-Catalogue (AGRICOLA)

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