Multiple causes of variable tick burdens on small-mammal hosts

Ecology
Jesse L Brunner, Richard S Ostfeld

Abstract

Blood meals by blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) on vertebrate hosts serve to transmit the agents of several zoonotic diseases, including Lyme disease, human babesiosis, and human granulocytic anaplasmosis, between host and tick. If ticks are aggregated on hosts, a small proportion of hosts may be responsible for most transmission events. Therefore, a key element in understanding and controlling the transmission of these pathogens is identifying the group(s) or individuals feeding a disproportionate number of ticks. Previous studies of tick burdens, however, have focused on differences in mean annual burdens between one or a few groups of hosts, ignoring both the strong seasonal dynamics of I. scapularis and their aggregation on hosts. We present a statistical modeling framework that predicts burdens on individual hosts throughout the year as a function of temporal-, site-, and individual-specific attributes, as well as the degree of aggregation in a negative binomial distribution. We then fit alternate versions of this model to an 11-year data set of I. scapularis burdens on white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) to explore which factors are important to predicting tick burdens. We ...Continue Reading

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Citations

May 8, 2009·Experimental & Applied Acarology·Anna PaziewskaEdward Siński
Jun 24, 2010·Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases·Lisa E SchwanzRichard S Ostfeld
Jan 19, 2012·Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases·Kimberly TsaoAlison P Galvani
Aug 21, 2009·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·F KeesingR S Ostfeld
Nov 18, 2011·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Janet KoprivnikarJulia C Redfern
Oct 31, 2008·Ecology·Kathleen LoGiudiceRichard S Ostfeld
Jan 29, 2014·Experimental & Applied Acarology·Valeria N DebárboraSantiago Nava
Aug 13, 2014·Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases·Valeria C ColomboPablo M Beldomenico
Oct 25, 2012·Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America·Chi-Chien KuoHsi-Chieh Wang
Mar 14, 2013·Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment·Sara H PaullPieter T J Johnson
Nov 28, 2012·Journal of Vector Ecology : Journal of the Society for Vector Ecology·Tad A DallasHyun-Joo Kim
Dec 23, 2011·Medical and Veterinary Entomology·H LutermannI G Horak
Mar 6, 2010·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Nelly BoyerJean-Louis Chapuis
Feb 20, 2014·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Pieter T J Johnson, Jason T Hoverman
Feb 13, 2010·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Ryan J Monello, Matthew E Gompper
May 20, 2015·Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases·Miriam PfäffleTrevor Petney
May 3, 2014·Infection, Genetics and Evolution : Journal of Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics in Infectious Diseases·S L StatesM A Diuk-Wasser
Jun 25, 2015·Veterinary Parasitology·Valeria C ColomboPablo M Beldomenico
Jun 25, 2015·Parasites & Vectors·Cami R JonesJeb P Owen
Feb 8, 2011·International Journal for Parasitology·Penelope A HancockStephen C F Palmer

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