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Table 2 Acronym and definition of each variable used in the present study

From: Beech tree masting explains the inter-annual variation in the fall and spring peaks of Ixodes ricinus ticks with different time lags

Acronym

Description

DON

Monthly density of nymphs per 100 m2

S

Site name (factor with 4 levels: low, medium, high, top)

Y

Year of the study (covariate: 1, 2, …, 15)

D

Day of the year for the tick sampling (covariate: 1, 2, …, 365)

BM[1,1]

Beech mast index in year y − 1 (covariate: 1, 2, …, 5)

BM[2,2]

Beech mast index in year y − 2 (covariate: 1, 2, …, 5)

BM[2,1]

Beech mast index with a 2-year time lag for the spring peak and a 1-year time lag for the fall peak (covariate: 1, 2, …, 5)

t

Temperature on day of tick sampling from the field-collected data (°C)

rh

Relative humidity on day of tick sampling from the field-collected data (%)

sd

Saturation deficit on day of tick sampling from the field-collected data (mmHg)

TY[i]

Mean annual temperature in year [i] from the weather station data (°C); the subscript [i] refers to one of three different years: y, y − 1, and y − 2, which are denoted as 0, 1, and 2, respectively

RHY[i]

Mean annual relative humidity in year [i] from the weather station data (%); the subscript [i] refers to one of three different years: y, y − 1, and y − 2, which are denoted as 0, 1, and 2, respectively

SDY[i]

Mean annual saturation deficit in year [i] from the weather station data (mmHg); the subscript [i] refers to one of three different years: y, y − 1, and y − 2, which are denoted as 0, 1, and 2, respectively

PRY[i]

Mean annual precipitation in year [i] from the weather station data (mm); the subscript [i] refers to one of three different years: y, y − 1, and y − 2, which are denoted as 0, 1, and 2, respectively

SNY[i]

Annual snowfall in year [i] from the weather station data (cm); the subscript [i] refers to one of three different years: y, y − 1, and y − 2, which are denoted as 0, 1, and 2, respectively. This variable is calculated from 1 October (e.g., previous year) to 31 May

T[x, i]

Mean seasonal temperature of season [x] in year [i] from the weather station data (°C); the subscript [x] refers to four different seasons: spring (L), summer (S), fall (F), winter (W); the subscript [i] refers to one of three different years: y, y − 1, and y − 2, which are denoted as 0, 1, and 2, respectively

RH[x, i]

Mean seasonal relative humidity of the fall in year y from the weather station data (%); the subscript [x] refers to four different seasons: spring (L), summer (S), fall (F), winter (W); the subscript [i] refers to one of three different years: y, y − 1, and y − 2, which are denoted as 0, 1, and 2, respectively

SD[x, i]

Mean seasonal saturation deficit of the fall in year y from the weather station data (mmHg); the subscript [x] refers to four different seasons: spring (L), summer (S), fall (F), winter (W); the subscript [i] refers to one of three different years: y, y − 1, and y − 2, which are denoted as 0, 1, and 2, respectively

PR[x, i]

Mean seasonal precipitation of the winter in year y from the weather station data (mm); the subscript [x] refers to four different seasons: spring (L), summer (S), fall (F), winter (W); the subscript [i] refers to one of three different years: y, y − 1, and y − 2, which are denoted as 0, 1, and 2, respectively