Hard Ticks (Ixodidae) from Wildlife in Liguria, Northwest Italy: Tick Species Diversity and Tick-Host Associations

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Wildlife may carry ticks that can transmit pathogens to domestic animals and humans. Tick species from hunted and accidentally found dead wild animals were identified in the framework of a Regional Plan of Monitoring and Surveillance of Wildlife health in the Liguria region, northwest Italy. The results are presented to provide updated information on the tick species in the region and on their host preference. A total of 819 ticks, removed from 259 animals, were found and identified as belonging to five different species. Ixodes ricinus was the most frequent species, especially in roe deer and fallow deer, whereas Dermacentor marginatus was more specifically associated with wild boar. Wild animals are useful for characterizing and monitoring the tick population in an area, and these data will help in structuring control strategies. ABSTRACT: Hard ticks’ geographical distribution and abundance are influenced by wildlife population. This work presents the results of the identification of ticks retrieved from wild animals in the framework of a Regional Plan of Monitoring and Surveillance of Wildlife health. The frequency of distribution of ticks in different hosts and their geographical patterns were also investigated. Ticks were collected from game animals (Sus scrofa, Capreolus capreolus, Dama dama, and Rupicapra rupicapra) during two hunting seasons (2018–2019 and 2019–2020) in the four provinces of the Liguria region in northwest Italy. In the same period, ticks were also collected from carcasses of Vulpes vulpes, Canis lupus, Meles meles, and Asio otus received for necropsy. Tick species were identified according to taxonomic keys. A total of 819 ticks, removed from 259 animals, were found and identified. Overall, Ixodes ricinus was the dominant species (62.6%), followed by Dermacentor marginatus (24.5%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (12.5%), Haemaphysalis punctata (0.2%), and Ixodes hexagonus (0.1%). I. ricinus was also the prevalent species in roe deer and in fallow deer and the only species collected from the three wolf carcasses examined. In contrast, D. marginatus was the dominant species in S. scrofa. This last tick species was also more frequent in one province (Imperia), whereas Ixodes spp. were more common in another one (Savona). Wild animals proved to be useful for characterizing and monitoring tick population.