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30 May 2018 Indirect Effects of Japanese Barberry Infestations on White-Footed Mice Exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi
Megan A. Linske, Scott C. Williams, Jeffrey S. Ward, Kirby C. Stafford
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Abstract

Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii de Candolle; Ranunculales: Berberidaceae) is an exotic shrub that has invaded woodland understories in the northeastern United States. It forms dense thickets providing ideal structure and microclimate for questing blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis Say; Acari: Ixodidae). While there have been studies on the favorable habitat barberry provides blacklegged ticks, little has been studied on the relationship between barberry, vectors (ticks), and reservoirs (white-footed mice; Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque; Rodentia: Cricetidae); specifically, the influence Japanese barberry has on the abundance of blacklegged ticks and Borrelia burgdorferi infection (Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt, and Brenner; Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) in mice. We studied the impacts of barberry treatment over the course of 6 yr to determine influence on encounter abundance with white-footed mice, encounter abundance with B. burgdorferi-infected mice, and juvenile blacklegged ticks parasitizing mice. Results from our study suggest that while both white-footed mouse and B. burgdorferi-infected mouse encounters remained similar between barberry treatment areas, juvenile tick attachment to mice was significantly greater in intact barberry stands ( x̄ = 4.4 ticks per mouse ± 0.23 SEM) compared with managed ( x̄ = 2.8 ± 0.17; P < 0.001) or absent ( x̄ = 2.2 ± 0.16; P < 0.001) stands. Results of this study indicated that management of barberry stands reduced contact opportunities between blacklegged ticks and white-footed mice. Continued efforts to manage Japanese barberry will not only allow for reestablishment of native plant species, but will also reduce the number of B. burgdorferi-infected blacklegged ticks on the landscape.

© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Megan A. Linske, Scott C. Williams, Jeffrey S. Ward, and Kirby C. Stafford "Indirect Effects of Japanese Barberry Infestations on White-Footed Mice Exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi," Environmental Entomology 47(4), 795-802, (30 May 2018). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvy079
Received: 5 January 2018; Accepted: 7 May 2018; Published: 30 May 2018
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KEYWORDS
Invasive plant management
primary reservoir host
serology
vector-borne disease
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