Abstract
Among vector-borne diseases, tick-borne diseases (TBD) are a major concern forhuman health. Mapping the distribution of important tick species is thus a major challenge forefficient prevention. Due to its specific ecological requirements, Ixodes ricinus, the main tickspecies in Europe responsible for TBD transmission, lives mostly in woodlands but also at theinterface between woodlands and pastures or crops and along hedgerows. At the landscapescale, extensive variations in tick densities are observed but remain poorly understood. In thataim, we built a statistical model to identify the landscape variables influencing the abundanceof questing I. ricinus nymphs, using GLMM approaches and MCMC estimates. This modelwas fitted on a data set based on a field sampling of ticks conducted during 3 years in 2different agricultural landscapes in northwest and southwest France, for a total of 5390sampling units. Among 12 variables investigated, 4 were finally kept in the model: woodlandperimeter, woodland distance, road distance and building perimeter. Then, we developed a Rpackage that simulates the abundance of questing nymphs within a given agricultural landscape, taking into account the influence of the different habitats as determined by theabove statistical model. The maps obtained as an output from this simulator will be a usefultool for visualizing TBD risk, notably for stake-holders involved in landscape managementand public health decisions.