Recommendations for Lyme Disease Studies Evaluating Tick-host Relationships
Open Access
- Author:
- Roberts, Chloe
- Area of Honors:
- Entomology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Erika T. Machtinger, Thesis Supervisor
Gary Felton, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Lyme disease
Peromyscus
ticks - Abstract:
- The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is the vector of Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent that causes Lyme disease in the United States. Studies investigating host-parasite interactions are valuable in understanding Ix. scapularis ecology, and, by extension, the transmission of the Lyme disease pathogen. Small mammals are important hosts for Ix. scapularis, particularly white-footed mice and deer mice from the genus Peromyscus. This group has also been used as model organisms in several fields and are frequently trapped to evaluate broad ecological concepts. Previous studies have suggested that identification marking mice with methods resulting in tissue has resulted in increased tick burdens, which may have consequences in ecological studies. The present study was designed to evaluate four mouse marking methods to determine if any method affects the tick burden on captured mice. Mice were captured biweekly using Sherman traps from May through September, in 2020. Upon capture, mice were assigned to one of four marking groups: blue dye animal marker (non-tissue damage control), lab tags, round tags, or ear punches. Month of capture influenced tick burdens. No significant differences were found using sex as predictors of total tick burden on captured mice, but the ear punch marking method resulted in more ticks than the blue dye control. There were no differences among the control and the two ear tagging marking methods. The overall tick burden did fluctuate between months, with August as the peak month. Ear tagging and blue dye animal marker should be considered for marking Peromyscus spp. for tick studies along with personal preferences, cost, ease of use, and durability.