First comprehensive survey of Ixodid tick populations on Arabian-Barb horses in Northeastern Algeria: Species inventory and abiotic factors influence
Abstract
Ticks infestation has been shown to be a real health threat to horses in the Mediterranean basin. To identify the environmental factors underlying this risk, a prospective study was carried out from April to September 2024 on 67 Arabian-Barb horses distributed over six different climatic and geographic sites, ranging from the humid coastal plains of the province El Tarf (4 sites, n = 46, altitude 50-300 m) to the semi- arid interior highlands of the province of Tébessa (2 sites, n= 21, altitude 400-700 m). A total of 825 ticks were manually collected, according to a standardized five-minute inspection protocol, and differentiated microscopically through a detailed morphological analysis of specific characteristics.The results showed that slightly more than the third of the horses were infested (overall: 34.3 %), with an average parasite burden of 36 ticks per animal. More significantly, the distribution of tick species revealed a clear ecological structure (P < 0.001). Species of the genus Rhipicephalus dominated largely in humid, low altitude areas, accounting for 86.2 % of the total number of collected ticks. In drier, higher-altitude zones, however, Hyalomma anatolicum was the predominant species, representing 54.0 % of all ticks collected. This difference was strongly linked to altitude, as evidenced by statistical correlations: a negative relationship was observed for R. annulatus (ρ = -0.79, P = 0.002) and R. bursa (ρ = -0.83, P = 0.001), while a positive correlation was found for H. anatolicum (ρ = 0.67, P = 0.015). The statistical model integrating altitude and bioclimatic zone alone accounted for 69 % of the observed variance, thereby demonstrating the decisive role of these abiotic factors. However, the sex of the horse (male vs. female) did not show any Signifiant link to infestation risk (p= 0.741).
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