Preliminary study on the seasonal questing of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in Ain Draham forest (north-western Tunisia) with analyses of their phylogenetic diversity

The present study aimed to investigate the activity dynamics of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in a forest located in north-western Tunisia (Aïn Draham, Jendouba District) and assess the variation of abiotic factors (temperature, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and relative humidity) during one y...

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Autores principales: Elati, Khawla, Khammasi Khbou, Médiha, Kahl, Olaf, Mwacharo, Joram, Al-Shamaa, Khaled, Rekik, Mourad, Darghouth, Mohamed Aziz, Gharbi, Mohamed
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/126579
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author Elati, Khawla
Khammasi Khbou, Médiha
Kahl, Olaf
Mwacharo, Joram
Al-Shamaa, Khaled
Rekik, Mourad
Darghouth, Mohamed Aziz
Gharbi, Mohamed
author_browse Al-Shamaa, Khaled
Darghouth, Mohamed Aziz
Elati, Khawla
Gharbi, Mohamed
Kahl, Olaf
Khammasi Khbou, Médiha
Mwacharo, Joram
Rekik, Mourad
author_facet Elati, Khawla
Khammasi Khbou, Médiha
Kahl, Olaf
Mwacharo, Joram
Al-Shamaa, Khaled
Rekik, Mourad
Darghouth, Mohamed Aziz
Gharbi, Mohamed
author_sort Elati, Khawla
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The present study aimed to investigate the activity dynamics of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in a forest located in north-western Tunisia (Aïn Draham, Jendouba District) and assess the variation of abiotic factors (temperature, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and relative humidity) during one year survey from September 2016 to August 2017 using the dragging sampling method. A total of 116 questing ticks was collected from the vegetation consisting of 47 adults (19 females and 28 males, sex ratio M:F = 1.47), 45 nymphs and 24 larvae representing 40.5, 38.8 and 20.7% of the total collected specimens, respectively. Adult I. ricinus were collected during October–May, nymphs during May–August and larvae during July–September. There were statistically significant correlations between adult tick numbers and mean daily relative humidity (Pearson r = 0.77; p = 0.003) and mean daily temperature (r = −0.74; p = 0.006). The comparison of 16S rDNA sequences from 20 adult ticks of approximately 444 bp length showed variability among 11 sequences. There was a low genetic variability (<1%) among the I. ricinus isolates collected from the forest. The amplicons showed >99% identity with I. ricinus and Ixodes inopinatus sequences from different countries and published in GenBank. These results should be complemented by further surveys in other Tunisian regions to better understand the influence of environmental factors on the biology of I. ricinus and the occurrence of sympatric I. inopinatus ticks. Different molecular markers should be used for better understanding of their taxonomic status.
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spelling CGSpace1265792026-01-21T11:56:52Z Preliminary study on the seasonal questing of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in Ain Draham forest (north-western Tunisia) with analyses of their phylogenetic diversity Elati, Khawla Khammasi Khbou, Médiha Kahl, Olaf Mwacharo, Joram Al-Shamaa, Khaled Rekik, Mourad Darghouth, Mohamed Aziz Gharbi, Mohamed food security health nutrition tunisia abiotic factors ixodes ricinus goal 3 good health and well-being abundance activity dynamics The present study aimed to investigate the activity dynamics of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in a forest located in north-western Tunisia (Aïn Draham, Jendouba District) and assess the variation of abiotic factors (temperature, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and relative humidity) during one year survey from September 2016 to August 2017 using the dragging sampling method. A total of 116 questing ticks was collected from the vegetation consisting of 47 adults (19 females and 28 males, sex ratio M:F = 1.47), 45 nymphs and 24 larvae representing 40.5, 38.8 and 20.7% of the total collected specimens, respectively. Adult I. ricinus were collected during October–May, nymphs during May–August and larvae during July–September. There were statistically significant correlations between adult tick numbers and mean daily relative humidity (Pearson r = 0.77; p = 0.003) and mean daily temperature (r = −0.74; p = 0.006). The comparison of 16S rDNA sequences from 20 adult ticks of approximately 444 bp length showed variability among 11 sequences. There was a low genetic variability (<1%) among the I. ricinus isolates collected from the forest. The amplicons showed >99% identity with I. ricinus and Ixodes inopinatus sequences from different countries and published in GenBank. These results should be complemented by further surveys in other Tunisian regions to better understand the influence of environmental factors on the biology of I. ricinus and the occurrence of sympatric I. inopinatus ticks. Different molecular markers should be used for better understanding of their taxonomic status. 2023-01-04T21:22:46Z 2023-01-04T21:22:46Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/126579 en Limited Access Elsevier Khawla Elati, Médiha Khammasi Khbou, Olaf Kahl, Joram Mwacharo, Khaled Al-Shamaa, Mourad Rekik, Mohamed Aziz Darghouth, Mohamed Gharbi. (23/9/2022). Preliminary study on the seasonal questing of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in Ain Draham forest (north-western Tunisia) with analyses of their phylogenetic diversity. Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports, 36.
spellingShingle food security
health
nutrition
tunisia
abiotic factors
ixodes ricinus
goal 3 good health and well-being
abundance
activity dynamics
Elati, Khawla
Khammasi Khbou, Médiha
Kahl, Olaf
Mwacharo, Joram
Al-Shamaa, Khaled
Rekik, Mourad
Darghouth, Mohamed Aziz
Gharbi, Mohamed
Preliminary study on the seasonal questing of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in Ain Draham forest (north-western Tunisia) with analyses of their phylogenetic diversity
title Preliminary study on the seasonal questing of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in Ain Draham forest (north-western Tunisia) with analyses of their phylogenetic diversity
title_full Preliminary study on the seasonal questing of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in Ain Draham forest (north-western Tunisia) with analyses of their phylogenetic diversity
title_fullStr Preliminary study on the seasonal questing of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in Ain Draham forest (north-western Tunisia) with analyses of their phylogenetic diversity
title_full_unstemmed Preliminary study on the seasonal questing of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in Ain Draham forest (north-western Tunisia) with analyses of their phylogenetic diversity
title_short Preliminary study on the seasonal questing of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in Ain Draham forest (north-western Tunisia) with analyses of their phylogenetic diversity
title_sort preliminary study on the seasonal questing of ixodes ricinus group ticks in ain draham forest north western tunisia with analyses of their phylogenetic diversity
topic food security
health
nutrition
tunisia
abiotic factors
ixodes ricinus
goal 3 good health and well-being
abundance
activity dynamics
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/126579
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