Snow Allison A, Pearson Patrick, Xu Guang, Allen David N, Santamaria Roberto, Rich Stephen M
Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
Insects. 2023 Jul 12;14(7):628. doi: 10.3390/insects14070628.
Tick-borne diseases and a tick-induced red meat allergy have become increasingly common in the northeastern USA and elsewhere. At the scale of local communities, few studies have documented tick densities or infection levels to characterize current conditions and provide a baseline for further monitoring. Using the town of Nantucket, MA, as a case study, we recorded tick densities by drag sampling along hiking trails in nature preserves on two islands. Nymphal blacklegged ticks ( Say) were most abundant at shadier sites and least common in grasslands and scrub oak thickets (). Lone star ticks ( L.) were common on Tuckernuck Island and rare on Nantucket Island, while both tick species were more numerous in 2021 compared to 2020 and 2022. We tested for pathogens in blacklegged nymphs at five sites over two years. In 2020 and 2021, infection levels among the four Nantucket Island sites averaged 10% vs. 19% for , 11% vs. 15% for and 17% (both years) for , while corresponding levels were significantly greater on Tuckernuck in 2021. Our site-specific, quantitative approach represents a practical example of how potential exposure to tick-borne diseases can be monitored on a local scale.
蜱传疾病和蜱引起的红肉过敏在美国东北部及其他地区越来越普遍。在当地社区层面，很少有研究记录蜱的密度或感染水平以描述当前状况并为进一步监测提供基线。以马萨诸塞州楠塔基特镇为例，我们通过在两个岛屿自然保护区的徒步小径上进行拖网采样来记录蜱的密度。若虫期黑腿蜱（Say）在较阴凉的地方最为丰富，在草原和矮栎灌丛中最不常见（）。孤星蜱（L.）在塔克纳克岛很常见，在楠塔基特岛很罕见，而且与2020年和2022年相比，这两种蜱在2021年数量更多。我们在两年内对五个地点的黑腿若虫进行了病原体检测。2020年和2021年，楠塔基特岛四个地点的感染水平，平均为10%（ ）对19%，11%（ ）对15%， （两年均为）17%，而2021年塔克纳克岛的相应水平明显更高。我们这种针对特定地点的定量方法代表了一个如何在地方层面监测蜱传疾病潜在暴露的实际例子。
