Number of the records: 1  

Negative spatial covariation in abundance of two European ticks: diverging niche preferences or biotic interaction?

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    SYSNO ASEP0497240
    Document TypeJ - Journal Article
    R&D Document TypeJournal Article
    Subsidiary JČlánek ve WOS
    TitleNegative spatial covariation in abundance of two European ticks: diverging niche preferences or biotic interaction?
    Author(s) Tkadlec, Emil (UBO-W) RID, ORCID, SAI
    Václavík, T. (CZ)
    Kubelová, M. (CZ)
    Široký, P. (CZ)
    Number of authors4
    Source TitleEcological Entomology. - : Wiley - ISSN 0307-6946
    Roč. 43, č. 6 (2018), s. 804-812
    Number of pages9 s.
    Languageeng - English
    CountryGB - United Kingdom
    KeywordsDermacentor reticulate ; habitat preferences ; interspecific competition ; Ixodes ricinus ; Lotka–Volterra model ; species distribution
    Subject RIVEH - Ecology, Behaviour
    OECD categoryEntomology
    Institutional supportUBO-W - RVO:68081766
    UT WOS000449675600011
    EID SCOPUS85052646596
    DOI10.1111/een.12668
    Annotation1. Understanding the ecological niches of ticks is central to predicting the risk of tick-borne disease occurrence. Despite considerable advances in describing species distributions over the last two decades, disentangling the differences in habitat preferences from biotic interactions still remains among the main challenges. 2. In boundary areas along the rivers Danube, Morava and Dyje, separating the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria, we studied ecological niche segregation between two European sympatric tick species, Dermacentor reticulatus and Ixodes ricinus, the abundances of which exhibited a negative spatial covariation. By applying ANCOVA analysis, we tested the effects of 19 climate, four moisture and two topographical variables derived through GIS on tick abundances. 3. Dermacentor reticulatus preferred warmer and wetter sites with greater diurnal and seasonal variation in temperature but with lower seasonality in precipitation than I. ricinus. 4. By adopting the static regression model based on a modified Lotka-Volterra model for interspecific competition, we examined the relative power of environmental variables to explain the negative relationship between tick log-abundances. We found that nonzero estimates of competition coefficients alpha(12) and alpha(21) were not eliminated even if we included seven principal components derived from considered environmental variables. 5. These results suggest that habitat conditions can shape abundance patterns of the studied ticks but their overall power to explain negative spatial covariation is low. This indicates that other critical variables were not considered in the analysis. An alternative explanation suggests that competitive interaction is not yet supported by direct field evidence obtained for these ticks.
    WorkplaceInstitute of Vertebrate Biology
    ContactHana Slabáková, slabakova@ivb.cz, Tel.: 543 422 524
    Year of Publishing2019
Number of the records: 1  

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