<p>Ticks are vectors for a larger number of viruses and bacteria than all other arthropod taxa, including mosquitoes. In Europe is it foremost Borrelia spirochetes and the Flavivirus Tick-borne Encephalitis virus that cause disease in humans. In this study, the tick species <em>Ixodes uriae</em> has been studied. <em>I.</em><em> uriae</em> have a circumpolar distribution in both hemisphere and can be found both in Arctic and Antarctica. I collected ticks from Magellanic penguins in south Chile and analyzed them to see if they carry <em>Borrelia</em> spirochetes or Flavivirus. Totally were 218 ticks collected from 165 controlled penguins. All ticks were collected from adult penguins and the parasitizing ticks were all found in the auditory meatus which is a new phenomena compared to earlier studies. Both <em>Borrelia</em> spirochetes and Flavivirus were found in the collected ticks using PCR techniques. This is an interesting result since not much research has been performed in this geographical area before. Until date there is only one species of <em>Borrelia</em> (<em>Borrelia</em> <em>garinii</em>) found in <em>I.</em><em> uriae</em> on the southern hemisphere and new Flavivirus is regularly found around the world.  Unfortunately we have not been able to determine species of the <em>Borrelia </em>spirochetes or Flavivirus so far but this work will be continued. <strong></strong></p>

Ticks are vectors for a larger number of viruses and bacteria than all other arthropod taxa, including mosquitoes. In Europe is it foremost Borrelia spirochetes and the Flavivirus Tick-borne Encephalitis virus that cause disease in humans. In this study, the tick species Ixodes uriae has been studied. I. uriae have a circumpolar distribution in both hemisphere and can be found both in Arctic and Antarctica. I collected ticks from Magellanic penguins in south Chile and analyzed them to see if they carry Borrelia spirochetes or Flavivirus. Totally were 218 ticks collected from 165 controlled penguins. All ticks were collected from adult penguins and the parasitizing ticks were all found in the auditory meatus which is a new phenomena compared to earlier studies. Both Borrelia spirochetes and Flavivirus were found in the collected ticks using PCR techniques. This is an interesting result since not much research has been performed in this geographical area before. Until date there is only one species of Borrelia (Borrelia garinii) found in I. uriae on the southern hemisphere and new Flavivirus is regularly found around the world.  Unfortunately we have not been able to determine species of the Borrelia spirochetes or Flavivirus so far but this work will be continued.

La spécialisation des parasites vis-à-vis de leur(s) hôte(s) et la formation de races d'hôtes sont des processus évolutifs clés dans le maintien et l'émergence de la diversité au sein des populations de parasites. Notre objectif était d'étudier ces processus chez Ixodes uriae, une tique d'oiseaux marins présentant une vaste distribution géographique et une large diversité d'hôtes, afin de mieux comprendre le rôle relatif des contraintes liées à l'hôte et aux facteurs géographiques dans l'évolution et la diversification de ce parasite. Cette question a été abordée à travers différentes approches réunissant des analyses de génétique des populations et de phylogéographie, des analyses morphologiques et une approche expérimentale sur le terrain. Les résultats obtenus montrent que le facteur spatial joue un rôle important dans la diversification d'I. uriae puisque quatre grands groupes géographiques génétiquement isolés ont été identifiés. L'évolution de races d'hôtes est également un processus récurrent de l'évolution d'I. uriae, même si la divergence entre races est plus ou moins marquée d'une région à l'autre. L'évolution des races semble impliquer une préférence d'hôte chez la tique ainsi que des contraintes adaptatives liées à l'hôte, de type mécanique ou physiologique (e.g., bec des oiseaux, digestion du sang, réponse immunitaire). L'ensemble des résultats est cohérent avec la notion d'évolution en mosaïque géographique qui prédit que les interactions entre espèces peuvent évoluer de manière différente dans un contexte spatial hétérogène ; ce qui souligne l'importance des caractéristiques écologiques des hôtes dans la diversification de la tique I. uriae. D'après nos résultats et ceux de différents collègues, la spécialisation d'hôte pourrait s'avérer être un processus commun chez les tiques et donc avoir de profondes implications épidémiologiques et évolutives pour les pathogènes qu'elles transmettent. / Host specialization and host-race formation may be key processes in maintaining and generating diversity within parasite populations. The objective of this thesis was to analyze these processes in the seabird tick Ixodes uriae, a common and widely distributed ectoparasite that exploits a great diversity of seabird host species, to better understand the relative role of host-related constraints and geographic factors in its evolution and diversification. I addressed this question using different approaches, including population genetic and phylogeographic analyses, morphometry and field experimentation. Results show that the spatial factor is a key component in shaping the diversity of I. uriae, as four geographical genetically isolated groups exist within the global distribution of this parasite. The formation of host races is also a general process in the evolution of I. uriae, but has evolved to different degrees in different geographical regions. Host preference in the tick, along with mechanical or physiological host-related constraints (e.g., beak morphology, blood digestion, immune response) are likely involved in the evolution of I. uriae host races. Overall, results fall in line with the geographic mosaic theory of evolution that predicts that the outcome of species interactions can vary across geographic landscapes, highlighting the role played by ecological characteristics of the host in the diversification of I. uriae. Given results to date, host specialization may be a common process in tick systems and thus may have strong epidemiological and evolutionary implications for the pathogens that they transmit.