Department of Geography, University of Florida, Turlington Hall, Gainesville, FL.
Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, owry Road, Gainesville, FL.
J Med Entomol. 2019 Jan 8;56(1):55-64. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjy147.
The lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, is the most commonly reported human-biting tick in the southeastern United States and is a vector for several human and livestock pathogens. Although it is endemic to Florida, little is known about the ecological preferences and current spatial distribution within the state. Using occurrence records of adult A. americanum collected between August 2015 and September 2016, a logistic regression model was used to estimate environmental associations, as well as to predict the distribution of the tick at a one hectare resolution. Occurrence of adult lone star ticks was associated with land cover and bioclimatic variables, namely the presence of forested areas and precipitation seasonality. The estimated spatial distribution indicated that central and northern regions show greater suitability than the southern half of the state. Furthermore, areas predicted to be suitable for the species decreases from north to south with very little area deemed suitable in the far southern reaches of the state. High heterogeneity in the distribution of suitable habitat has implications for the distribution of tick-borne disease cases in the state. The subcounty resolution of the estimated distribution is an improvement over distributions currently published and may better inform the public and state or federal agencies of potential risk of exposure to A. americanum and its associated pathogens.
孤星蜱，即美洲钝眼蜱，是美国东南部最常报告的人类叮咬蜱种，也是几种人类和牲畜病原体的传播媒介。尽管它是佛罗里达州的地方性物种，但人们对该州内的生态偏好和当前空间分布知之甚少。利用 2015 年 8 月至 2016 年 9 月收集的成年孤星蜱出现记录，使用逻辑回归模型来估计环境关联，并以一公顷的分辨率预测蜱的分布。成年孤星蜱的出现与土地覆盖和生物气候变量有关，即森林区域的存在和降水季节性。估计的空间分布表明，中部和北部地区比该州的南部地区更适宜。此外，预测适合该物种的区域从北到南逐渐减少，在该州的最南端几乎没有适合的区域。适合栖息地分布的高度异质性对该州 ticks-borne 疾病病例的分布有影响。估计分布的次县分辨率优于当前发布的分布，可能更好地向公众和州或联邦机构通报接触 A. americanum 及其相关病原体的潜在风险。
