Conditions Of Tick (Acari: Ixodoidea) Population Persistence In The Urban Environment

Abstract:
Tick pests and vectors of human and animal diseases are a permanent component of urban fauna. The present paper addresses the conditions required for persistence of tick populations in urban environment. All urban tick populations originate from populations in natural habitats around towns. Some of these can successfully persist under urban conditions without continuous replenishment by additional specimens brought by hosts from outside. Availability of ‘green corridors’ between natural habitats of ticks and urban localities with suitable vegetation creates a unique opportunity to support urban tick populations. Exotic tick species brought into towns by birds, with pets or by other means, have no chance for prolonged persistence since they have no resources for replenishment. The persistence of tick species (Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Argas reflexus s.l.) that can live in man-made structures depends on the availability of their main hosts. Both species are able to create independent urban populations.