Multi-criteria Decision Analysis to Model Ixodes ricinus Habitat Suitability
Raphaël Rousseau1, Guy McGrath2, Barry J McMahon3
1Georges Lemaître Centre for Earth and Climate Research, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Place Pasteur, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. raphael.rousseau@uclouvain.be.
Ecohealth
|June 21, 2017
Summary
This study maps tick (Ixodes ricinus) habitat suitability in Ireland using a multi-criteria decision analysis. Key areas identified can guide future sampling to assess tick-borne disease risks.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Entomology
- Epidemiology
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Background:
- Tick-borne diseases pose significant risks to human and livestock health across Europe.
- Understanding tick vector distribution is crucial for managing disease transmission.
- Environmental factors like habitat, climate, and host availability influence tick presence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model habitat suitability for Ixodes ricinus in Ireland, a region with limited tick distribution data.
- To identify areas with high potential for tick presence to inform public health strategies.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge-based methods for coarse-scale tick habitat mapping.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach to estimate tick habitat suitability.
- Analyzed data at a coarse spatial scale (10 km resolution).
- Developed four distinct scenarios by varying input variables and their assigned weights.
Main Results:
- Identified western Ireland and the Wicklow Mountains as the most suitable habitats for Ixodes ricinus.
- Demonstrated a strong correlation between MCDA model outputs and existing tick presence records.
- Observed minimal impact of different scenarios on the overall spatial distribution patterns.
Conclusions:
- Coarse-scale tick habitat suitability mapping is feasible and accurate, even in data-scarce environments.
- Knowledge-based methods like MCDA are effective for this purpose.
- The study provides a valuable framework for targeted future tick surveillance in Ireland.
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