Mitochondrial phylogeography and population structure of the cattle tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus in the African Great Lakes region

Table 1 Geographical and climatic attributes of the six agro-ecological zones (AEZ)

Country	Agro-ecological zone (AEZ)	Altitude (m)	Temperature (°C)	Rainfall (mm/year)	Rainy season	Sample size (no. of ticks)
DRC	AEZ1	780–1100	23–25	800–1000	October-April	46
	AEZ2	1200–1600	17–21	1000–1500	September-May	54
	AEZ3	1600–2800	12–19	1350–2000	September-May	46
Burundi	AEZ1	774–1100	23–24	800–1100	November-May	26
Burundi	AEZ3	1700–2800	14–15	1300–2000	September-May	17
Rwanda^a	AEZ2	1200–1500	21–24	800–950	November-May	20

Notes: DRC (AEZ1: Lowlands, AEZ2: Midlands, AEZ3: Highlands); Burundi (AEZ1: Lowlands, AEZ3: Highlands); Rwanda (AEZ2: eastern low plateau which is the lowlands of Rwanda as described by Bazarusanga et al. [3])
^aSequences previously described in Mtambo at al. [29] are not included in the 20 samples from Rwanda and thus were not used in the population genetic analysis presented in Tables 2, 3 and 4

ISSN: 1756-3305