Predicting the potential habitat for Ornithodoros tick species in China

Ornithodoros ticks as vectors of pathogens have had serious implications on public health. In China, these ticks are mainly distributed among arid and semiarid areas of the northwest. To improve prevention and risk control of such tick-borne diseases, suitable habitats for four Ornithodoros tick species found in China were predicted using a Maxent model. These habitats were identified based on the global geographic distributions that the tick is known to inhabit. For this study, literature reviews were conducted for each Ornithodoros species at a global level based on published studies and available online databases. Study results showed that high species suitability was primarily concentrated in northwest China for the species Ornithodoros lahorensis, O. papillipes, and O. tartakovskyi, with O. capensis limited to a predicted distribution along the coast in southeastern China. Under future climate conditions Representative Concentration Pathway scenario 4.5 and 8.5, suitable habitats for O. lahorensis, O. papillipes, and O. tartakovskyi were predicted to shift and would likely increase the potential of the species to spread, and O. capensis would reduce compared with the current climatic conditions. For all four species, temperature and precipitation were the main variables influencing distribution.