Landscape epidemiology to understand the distribution of Amblyomma spp. (Acari: Ixodidae) in the state of Pará, Eastern Amazon, Brazil

Abstract This study investigated the diversity and abundance of questing ticks in three forest fragments in the state of Pará, Brazil. A model to predict species distribution for all territory of the state was developed. Ticks were collected using the flannel drag technique, flannel leggings and a CO2 attractive trap. Species richness and relative abundance were calculated and a non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to assess the similarity across ticks species collected in areas. The potential distribution of tick species was predicted using the MaxEnt software. In total, 2921 ticks were captured, distributed in eight species: Amblyomma varium, Amblyomma humerale, Amblyomma naponense, Amblyomma cajennense sensu stricto, Amblyomma oblongoguttatum, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma calcaratum and Amblyomma pacae. Non-metric multidimensional scaling indicated that humans and domestic animals living around fragments do not need to enter the wild environment to be exposed to these ticks. Five species, A. cajennense s.s., A. calcaratum, A. humerale, A. naponense and A. varium, were used to predict spatial distribution in the state of Pará. These species seem to be distributed in Pará regions that presents types of climate classified as Af or Am: northeast, metropolitan area of Belém, Marajó, and the upper southeastern state. This study also showed that most ticks have a predilection for lower areas. This study presents the first ecological data required to understand the spatial distribution of ticks of the Amblyomma genus in the state of Pará. However, further studies are necessary to investigate especially southwest Pará state and lower amazon.