Attachment site selection of life stages of Ixodes ricinus ticks on a main large host in Europe, the red deer (Cervus elaphus).
BACKGROUND
Ticks and tick-borne diseases are increasing in many areas of Europe and North America due to climate change, while land use and the increased abundances of large hosts play a more controversial role. The pattern of host selection involves a crucial component for tick abundance. While the larvae and nymphs feed on a wide range of different sized hosts, the adult female ticks require blood meal from a large host (>1 kg), typically a deer, to fulfil the life cycle. Understanding the role of different hosts for abundances of ticks is therefore important, and also the extent to which different life stages attach to large hosts.


RESULTS
We studied attachment site selection of life stages of I. ricinus ticks on a main large host in Europe, the red deer (Cervus elaphus). We collected from 33 felled red deer pieces of skin from five body parts: leg, groin, neck, back and ear. We counted the number of larval, nymphal, adult male and adult female ticks. Nymphs (42.2%) and adult (48.7%) ticks dominated over larvae (9.1%). There were more larvae on the legs (40.9%), more nymphs on the ears (83.7%), while adults dominated in the groins (89.2%) and neck (94.9%).


CONCLUSIONS
Large mammalian hosts are thus a diverse habitat suitable for different life stages of ticks. The attachment site selection reflected the life stages differing ability to move. The spatial separation of life stages may partly limit the role of deer in co-feeding transmission cycles.
Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, NO-0316, Oslo, Norway. atle.mysterud@ibv.uio.no.
Atle
A
Mysterud
Nord-Trøndelag University College, Faculty of Nature Resource Sciences, P.O. Box 2501, NO-7729, Steinkjer, Norway. lauge_idar@hotmail.com.
Idar Lauge
IL
Hatlegjerde
Nord-Trøndelag University College, Faculty of Nature Resource Sciences, P.O. Box 2501, NO-7729, Steinkjer, Norway. Ole.J.Sorensen@hint.no.
Ole Jakob
OJ
Sørensen
D000818:Animals; D003670:Deer / Q000469:parasitology*; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D018884:Ixodes / Q000502:physiology*; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*