Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Tick Microbiome Characterization by Next-Generation 16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing
Published on: August 25, 2018
History and complexity in tick-host dynamics: discrepancies between 'real' and 'visible' tick populations
1School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Cottrell Building, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK. andrew.dobson@stir.ac.uk.
Background:
Numerical responses of ticks to changes in densities of their hosts can be complex and apparently unpredictable. Manipulations even of deterministic models can produce counter-intuitive results, including tick populations that either rise or fall under increasing host densities, depending on initial conditions.
Methods:
In this paper I use an established simulation model to demonstrate a wide range of numerical responses to different scenarios of host changes, and to examine the basic mechanisms that drive them.
Results:
The rate and direction of change of host densities affects the extent to which questing tick numbers reflect those of their hosts. Numerical responses differ profoundly between dynamic tick-host systems and those allowed to reach equilibrium.
Conclusions:
The key to understanding tick-host dynamics is to understand the difference between 'real' and 'visible' tick populations. An appreciation of the implications of this difference - and of the conditions that influence it - will benefit the effective interpretation of field data.
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