Of ticks, mice and men - shaping the ecology of tick-borne pathogens in Baden-Württemberg

Ticks cause more vector-borne diseases than any other blood-feeding arthropod in Europe; and their abundance is increasing. Influential US studies show that small mammals are key hosts regulating ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBP), serving as blood meal hosts and TBP reservoirs. The relevance of these studies to Europe is, however, unknown. Therefore, my aim was the determination of the relative influence of small mammal hosts and environmental factors on the dynamics of ticks and TBPs in BW.