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Given the ever-increasing human impact through land use and climate change on the environment, we crucially need to achieve a better understanding of those factors that influence the questing activity of ixodid ticks, a major disease-transmitting vector in temperate forests. We investigated variation in the relative questing nymph densities of Ixodes ricinus in differently managed forest types for three years (2008–2010) in SW Germany by drag sampling. We used a hierarchical Bayesian modeling approach to examine the relative effects of habitat and weather and to consider possible nested structures of habitat and climate forces. The questing activity of nymphs was considerably larger in young forest successional stages of thicket compared with pole wood and timber stages. Questing nymph density increased markedly with milder winter temperatures. Generally, the relative strength of the various environmental forces on questing nymph density differed across years. In particular, winter temperature had a negative effect on tick activity across sites in 2008 in contrast to the overall effect of temperature across years. Our results suggest that forest management practices have important impacts on questing nymph density. Variable weather conditions, however, might override the effects of forest management practices on the fluctuations and dynamics of tick populations and activity over years, in particular, the preceding winter temperatures. Therefore, robust predictions and the detection of possible interactions and nested structures of habitat and climate forces can only be quantified through the collection of long-term data. Such data are particularly important with regard to future scenarios of forest management and climate warming.
Der Fang von Vögeln zu wissenschaftlichen Zwecken in den Tropen und Subtropen stellt eine Herausforderung für Ornithologen dar. Probleme aufgrund rechtlicher sowie sozioökonomischer und soziokultureller Rahmenbedingungen lassen sich oft durch eine intensive Vorbereitung und Kooperationen mit lokalen Partnern vermeiden oder reduzieren. Beim eigentlichen Fang sind logistische Herausforderungen wie die Materialbeschaffung vor Ort, aber auch die Ökologie einiger überwiegend tropischer Vogelgruppen zu berücksichtigen. Hier wie auch bei der Probennahme und -lagerung beeinflussen die herrschenden Umweltbedingungen die Arbeit, insbesondere extreme Witterung. Problemlösungenlassen sich jedoch teilweise nur schwer verallgemeinern. Wir unterstreichen die Bedeutung lokaler und regionaler Besonderheiten anhand zahlreicher Beispiele aufgrund eigener Erfahrungen.