Table 1.
Variability of methods used in tick research to correlate tick and meteorological data
| Source | No. of study sites (ticks) | No. of study sites (weather) | Origin of weather data | Origin description | Parameters measured | Height of sensors | Measurement frequency | Weather data (raw data) | Weather data (used in analysis) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [4] | 13 | 13 | Measured at study site | Study site (forest) | Ta, Ts, RH | 1 m, ground-level, soil-level (Ts) | February-December 2011; single measurement before tick sampling | Point data, 1/month | = raw data |
| 13 | 12 | Official meteorological stations | Nearby | Ta, RH, prec | n.i. | Continuous measurement | Daily means | Mean of 3 days before sampling | |
| [5] | 5 | 5 | Measured at study site | Study site (forest) | Ta, RH, soil water content | 5 cm above soil surface (Ta, RH) | May-November 2003; single measurement/weekly | Point data, 1/week | = raw data |
| 5 | 1 | Meteorological station | Close to the study site | detailed climate data | n.i. | n.i. | n.i. | n.i. | |
| [6] | 6 | 1 | Measured at study site | study site (forest) | Ta, RH | 1 cm above soil surface (Ta, RH) | March-November 2001–2006; on each visit | Point data (09:00, 10:00 and 11:00 h) | = raw data |
| 1 | 1 | Meteorological station | Nearby | n.i. | n.i. | n.i. | n.i. | n.i. | |
| [7] | 3 | 2 | Official meteorological stations | 1 km to highest/lowest study site | Ta, altitude | n.i. | 1999–2001 continuous measurement | n.i. | Annual means |
| [8] | 1 | 1 | Meteorological station “Mendeleum” | 5 km distance at Lednice | Ta, Ts, RH | 1.5 m (Ta, RH), -5 cm (Ts) | 1989–2001 continuous measurement | Point data, of the 41 days of tick sampling | Daily min/max values (Ta), Ta, Ts and RH at 7:00 and 14:00 h |
| [9] | 1 | 1 | Automatic station | Located in Neuchatel, 500 m distance | Ta, RH, SD | n.i. | 1996–1998 continuous measurement | SD and daily max/ average Ta recorded for each day as a 30-day moving average | Monthly mean of SD, Ta, RH; 5 day mean of Ta (max); means of 29, 16, 9 and 4 days before sampling |
| [10] | 7 | n.i. | Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia | Cities close to sampling sites | Ta, RH, SD | n.i. | n.i. | Daily min/max (Ta), daily point data (RH at 07:00 h), SD calculated from Ta and RH at 07:00 h | 7-day means of Ta min/max (4 sites) daily/weekly means (Ta), RH (sampling day and one week prior), 7-day mean (SD, week prior to sampling) |
Abbreviations: prec precipitation, Ta air temperature, Ts soil temperature, RH relative humidity, SD saturation deficit, n.i. no further information given