Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Parasit Vectors. 2022 Aug 10;15(1):288. doi: 10.1186/s13071-022-05416-2.
The incidence of tick-borne disease has increased dramatically in recent decades, with urban areas increasingly recognized as high-risk environments for exposure to infected ticks. Green spaces may play a key role in facilitating the invasion of ticks, hosts and pathogens into residential areas, particularly where they connect residential yards with larger natural areas (e.g. parks). However, the factors mediating tick distribution across heterogeneous urban landscapes remain poorly characterized.
Using generalized linear models in a multimodel inference framework, we determined the residential yard- and local landscape-level features associated with the presence of three tick species of current and growing public health importance in residential yards across Staten Island, a borough of New York City, in the state of New York, USA.
The amount and configuration of canopy cover immediately surrounding residential yards was found to strongly predict the presence of Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum, but not that of Haemaphysalis longicornis. Within yards, we found a protective effect of fencing against I. scapularis and A. americanum, but not against H. longicornis. For all species, the presence of log and brush piles strongly increased the odds of finding ticks in yards.
The results highlight a considerable risk of tick exposure in residential yards in Staten Island and identify both yard- and landscape-level features associated with their distribution. In particular, the significance of log and brush piles for all three species supports recommendations for yard management as a means of reducing contact with ticks.
近年来，蜱传疾病的发病率显著增加，城市地区越来越被认为是感染蜱虫的高风险环境。绿地在促进蜱虫、宿主和病原体侵入住宅区方面可能发挥着关键作用，尤其是在它们将住宅庭院与更大的自然区域（如公园）连接起来的地方。然而，介导蜱虫在异质城市景观中分布的因素仍未得到很好的描述。
我们使用广义线性模型在多模型推理框架中，确定了与三种当前和日益重要的蜱种在纽约斯塔滕岛（美国纽约州纽约市的一个行政区）住宅庭院中存在相关的住宅庭院和局部景观特征。
发现住宅庭院周围树冠覆盖的数量和配置强烈预测了 Ixodes scapularis 和 Amblyomma americanum 的存在，但不预测 Haemaphysalis longicornis 的存在。在院子内，我们发现围栏对 I. scapularis 和 A. americanum 有保护作用，但对 H. longicornis 没有保护作用。对于所有物种，原木和灌木堆的存在强烈增加了在院子里发现蜱虫的几率。
这些结果突出表明在斯塔滕岛的住宅庭院中存在相当大的蜱虫暴露风险，并确定了与它们分布相关的庭院和景观特征。特别是，所有三种物种的原木和灌木堆的重要性支持了作为减少与蜱虫接触的一种手段的庭院管理建议。
