RT Journal Article
T1 Monitoring of questing tick species distribution in Galicia, north-western Spain, over a period of 5.5 years
A1 Vilá Pena, María
A1 Abreu Ramos, Inês
A1 Bautista García, Génesis
A1 Íñiguez Pichel, Elvira
A1 Cazapal Monteiro, Cristiana Filipa
A1 Hernández Malagón, José Ángel
A1 Sánchez-Andrade Fernández, Rita
A1 Arias Vázquez, María Sol
K1 Ticks
K1 Climate regions
K1 Vector surveillance
K1 Galicia
K1 Spain
AB An active survey was performed by the Galician Vector Surveillance Network (ReGaViVec) to determine the distribution of questing tick species in the Autonomous Community of Galicia Galicia, north-western Spain. Monitoring of tick populations involved drag/flag sampling at 533 locations over a period of 5.5 years. The identification of tick species, sex, and stage was carried out according to morphological keys, and the results were analyzed considering three Köppen climate regions, i.e. Cfb (marine west coast climate), Csb (warm-summer Mediterranean climate), and Csa (hot-summer Mediterranean climate), season, environment (forest, rural, or urban), vegetation height (≤ 15 cm, 16–40 cm, and > 40 cm); and altitude (< 300 m, 301–500 m, 501–1000 m, and >1000 m). A total of 1378 ticks were collected at 260 locations: 62.92% in Csb, 24.38% in Cfb, and 12.70% in Csa. Of these, 2% were larvae, 45.2% were nymphs, and 52.8% were adults (58.3% females and 41.7% males). Six species were recorded, i.e. Ixodes ricinus (57.90%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato) (26.05%), Dermacentor reticulatus (10.95%), Dermacentor marginatus (2.10%), Haemaphysalis sp. (2.61%), and Rhipicephalus bursa (0.36%). A seasonal pattern was recorded, with the relative abundance of I. ricinus and R. sanguineus (s.l.) peaking in spring-summer, and that of Dermacentor spp. and Haemaphysalis sp. peaking in autumn-winter. Significant differences were demonstrated in the species abundance distribution according to climate region, season, environment, and altitude. The highest tick abundance was recorded in summer, in rural areas, and at altitudes of < 300 m. Because most of the tick species present in the environment of Galicia have vectorial competence for emerging tick-borne pathogens, it is important to maintain research and coordination of tick surveillance practices in the region.
PB Elsevier
SN 2667-114X
YR 2025
FD 2025
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/40794
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/40794
LA eng
NO Pena, M. V., Ramos, I. A., García, G. B., Pichel, E. Í, Monteiro, C. C., Hernández Malagón, J. Á, Silva, A. P., Sánchez-Andrade Fernández, R., & Arias Vázquez, M. S. (2025). Monitoring of questing tick species distribution in galicia, north-western spain, over a period of 5.5 years. Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-Borne Diseases, 7, 100254. 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2025.100254
NO This research was partly funded by AGACAL (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidades, Xunta de Galicia, Spain) (Project FEADER ED431B 2021/07) and Research Contract 2023-CP109 (Consellería de Sanidade and Consellería de Medio Rural, Xunta de Galicia, Spain).
DS Minerva
RD 23 abr 2026