How to translate text using browser tools
9 September 2020 A Generalized Additive Model Correlating Blacklegged Ticks With White-Tailed Deer Density, Temperature, and Humidity in Maine, USA, 1990–2013
Susan P. Elias, Allison M. Gardner, Kirk A. Maasch, Sean D. Birkel, Norman T. Anderson, Peter W. Rand, Charles B. Lubelczyk, Robert P. Smith Jr
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Geographical range expansions of blacklegged tick [Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae)] populations over time in the United States have been attributed to a mosaic of factors including 20th century reforestation followed by suburbanization, burgeoning populations of the white-tailed deer [Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman (Artiodactyla: Cervidae)], and, at the northern edge of I. scapularis' range, climate change. Maine, a high Lyme disease incidence state, has been experiencing warmer and shorter winter seasons, and relatively more so in its northern tier. Maine served as a case study to investigate the interacting impacts of deer and seasonal climatology on the spatial and temporal distribution of I. scapularis. A passive tick surveillance dataset indexed abundance of I. scapularis nymphs for the state, 1990–2013. With Maine's wildlife management districts as the spatial unit, we used a generalized additive model to assess linear and nonlinear relationships between I. scapularis nymph abundance and predictors. Nymph submission rate increased with increasing deer densities up to ∼5 deer/km2 (13 deer/mi2), but beyond this threshold did not vary with deer density. This corroborated the idea of a saturating relationship between I. scapularis and deer density. Nymphs also were associated with warmer minimum winter temperatures, earlier degree-day accumulation, and higher relative humidity. However, nymph abundance only increased with warmer winters and degree-day accumulation where deer density exceeded ∼2 deer/km2 (∼6/mi2). Anticipated increases in I. scapularis in the northern tier could be partially mitigated through deer herd management.

© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Susan P. Elias, Allison M. Gardner, Kirk A. Maasch, Sean D. Birkel, Norman T. Anderson, Peter W. Rand, Charles B. Lubelczyk, and Robert P. Smith Jr "A Generalized Additive Model Correlating Blacklegged Ticks With White-Tailed Deer Density, Temperature, and Humidity in Maine, USA, 1990–2013," Journal of Medical Entomology 58(1), 125-138, (9 September 2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa180
Received: 15 June 2020; Accepted: 24 July 2020; Published: 9 September 2020
JOURNAL ARTICLE
14 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
blacklegged tick
Climate
Ixodes scapularis
Maine
white-tailed deer
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top