An investigation of key abiotic and genetic factors affecting blacklegged tick population dynamics in the Eastern United States

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve C. Pang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Tick Population ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Blacklegged Tick

scholarly journals Immature Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Collected From Peromyscus leucopus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) and Peromyscus maniculatus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) Nests in Northern Wisconsin

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 304-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan T Larson ◽  
Xia Lee ◽  
Tela Zembsch ◽  
Gebbiena M Bron ◽  
Susan M Paskewitz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Dermacentor Variabilis ◽  
Immature Stages ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Blacklegged Tick ◽  
Disease Vector ◽  
Blood Meals

Abstract The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, is the primary Lyme disease vector in the eastern United States. Both immature stages of I. scapularis take blood meals from mice belonging to the genus Peromyscus. Mice are active during the night and spend the majority of diel periods in nests. Thus, immature I. scapularis have a greater opportunity to drop from Peromyscus hosts while in nests compared with the forest floor. Here, we collected 11 Peromyscus nests during a 3-mo period during which the immature I. scapularis are known to be active. We then examined nesting materials for the presence of I. scapularis. Immature I. scapularis were detected in 64% of Peromyscus nests examined. Additionally, 55% of the nests contained at least one Dermacentor variabilis Say larva. Eighty-seven percent of all larval ticks found within nests were blood-fed. Because Peromyscus spp. are highly competent reservoirs of numerous tick-borne pathogens, the ticks that detach in their nests may be important for the maintenance of tick-borne diseases. However, further studies are needed to determine the fate of the I. scapularis that detach in Peromyscus nests.

scholarly journals Factors affecting Velcro-covered balls when used as a sampling device for wool of Adelges tsugae (Hemiptera: Adelgidae)

2018 ◽  
Vol 151 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey G. Fidgen ◽  
Ronald E. Fournier ◽  
Mark C. Whitmore ◽  
Chris J.K. MacQuarrie ◽  
Jean J. Turgeon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Adelges Tsugae ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Sampling Device ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Routine Sampling

AbstractAdelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) has caused extensive mortality of hemlocks (Tsuga (Endlicher) Carrière; Pinaceae) in the eastern United States of America and was discovered recently in Nova Scotia, Canada. We evaluated the use of a Velcro-covered racquetball as a sampling device for A. tsugae wool. Specifically, we report on improvements to an earlier design and evaluate several factors seen in routine sampling that influence the ability of the ball to trap and retain adelgid wool. Velcro was found to be critical for trapping and retaining adelgid wool on the ball during flight and landing. Wooden beads, inserted in the ball, reduced deflection during flight and bounce during landing. Higher probability of trapping wool on the ball was associated with an ascent through the crown, with increasing diameter and density of ovisacs on branch tips, and with increasing abundance of woolly twigs on the forest floor. Higher probability of retaining wool on the ball was associated with Velcro surface area and with amount and location of wool loaded on the ball. These modifications improved detection surveys for A. tsugae in general.

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