For the second year in a row, Sebastian Botero-Cañola, Ph.D., was announced as the first-place winner at the Emerging Pathogens Institute Research Day 2025.
Botero-Cañola, a postdoctoral associate in the University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, tied for first place in the postdoctoral research poster competition, marking an impressive back-to-back achievement in the EPI’s flagship event for infectious disease research. His research sheds light on Ornithodoros turicata americanus (OTA), a species of soft tick increasingly recognized for its potential role in disease transmission in Florida.
OTA has been identified as a possible vector of tick-borne illnesses like African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), a devastating viral infection currently driving a global outbreak in swine populations.
“The disease, fortunately, hasn’t arrived to the United States, but we want to understand more about the ecology of this potential vector to be prepared,” said Botero-Cañola, who works in the Wisely Lab at the UF Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.
Building on the previous year’s research on the distribution of these ticks, Botero-Cañola and the team noticed that the abundance of these ticks varied heavily from location to location.
“From some [gopher tortoise] borrows, we only got one to two ticks. From others, we got hundreds, our top was around 250,” said Botero-Cañola. “So [this year] we were interested in seeing what ecological or environmental factors were influencing this variation in tick abundance, and also [to] model it and put it on a map.”
The team tested two main hypotheses. The first proposed that local environmental features, such as vegetation cover and topography, directly affect tick abundance. The second hypothesis focused on the “niche center” theory — the idea that a species will be most abundant in areas with environmental conditions most closely matching its optimal ecological preferences.
Using a statewide survey of OTA and advanced modeling techniques, the results clearly supported the second hypothesis. OTA was found in higher numbers in regions aligned closely with its niche center, rather than simply in areas with specific surface features. This finding provides a more nuanced and predictive understanding of vector ecology and may improve how scientists forecast the risks associated with tick-borne diseases.
One of the most important takeaways from Botero-Cañola’s study is the geographic overlap between areas of high OTA abundance and regions with dense populations of feral pigs — a known reservoir and amplifier of ASFV. These hotspots could represent significant points of vulnerability if ASFV were introduced to the U.S., highlighting the potential value of this research for early surveillance and targeted intervention.
By combining field data with ecological modeling, Botero-Cañola’s work offers practical tools for public health officials, veterinarians and policymakers. It also underscores the critical role of environmental and wildlife factors in managing emerging infectious diseases. Although the study is ongoing, Botero-Cañola exemplifies the UF spirit of learning and exploration.
“[This study] is the first time that I’ve worked with arthropods,” said Botero-Cañola. “Before that I worked more with endoparasites. So, it has been challenging, but extremely fun and enriching for me.”
Leveraging the niche centrality hypothesis to model the geographical patterns of abundance of the soft tick Ornithodoros turicata americanus, a vector of epidemiological concern in North America
Collaborators
- Sebastian Botero-Cañola – Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Florida
- Carson Torhorst – Pennsylvania Game Commission
- Nicholas B. Canino – Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Florida
- Angela James – USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services (VS), Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH)
- Kathleen O’Hara – USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services (VS), Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH)
- Samantha Wisely – Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida
The soft tick Ornithodoros turicata is a vector of tick-borne relapsing fever and has been identified as a potential vector of African Swine Fever Virus, the pathogen responsible for an ongoing global epizootic that threatens agroindustry worldwide. Recent surveys show that O. turicana americanus (OTA), the eastern population of this tick, occurs across a large portion of Florida, with its range overlapping areas of high abundance of feral pigs. These surveys also suggest the existence of ample variation in the abundance of OTA. Given the pivotal role played by vector abundance in disease dynamics, we set to model the abundance of OTA across its distribution in the eastern USA. We used a statewide OTA survey to assess two hypotheses regarding the drivers of its abundance: i) abundance is influenced by the local environmental characteristics such as vegetation cover or topography, and ii) the similarity of the environmental conditions of a site to those of the species niche center is positively correlated to abundance. Bayesian models of abundance that accounted for sampling biases clearly supported the second hypothesis. Our work suggests the utility of the niche center hypothesis to model vectors and gain insights into diseases systems. Furthermore, this work advances our understanding of the ecology of OTA and highlights areas where feral swine and OTA co-occur at high abundances. These areas might be of special management importance in an eventual introduction of African Swine Fever Virus to the USA.