Ecology and Disease Potential of the Black-Legged Deer Tick, Ixodes Scapularis Say, in Mississippi

Author

Lauren Goltz

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Goddard, Jerome

Committee Member

Schneider, John C.

Committee Member

Varela-Stokes, Andrea

Date of Degree

8-11-2012

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Entomology

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences

Abstract

To assess the seasonality and disease potential of Ixodes scapularis Say in north Mississippi, ixodid ticks were collected by drag cloth method at two sites in north Mississippi weekly from August 1, 2010 through July 31, 2011 and tested for molecular evidence of disease agents via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. In addition, environmental data were observed and recorded for each collection date. I. scapularis nymphs (n=6) were collected in August, September, March, and May, perhaps reflecting a seasonally bimodal distribution, while adults (n=256) were found October through May with a peak in March. No statistically significant relationship between environmental data and number of I. scapularis was found. No I. scapularis were PCR positive for Borrelia burgdorferi or Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and four were positive for Babesia odocoilei, a cervid babesiosis.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/20200

Recommended Citation

Goltz, Lauren, "Ecology and Disease Potential of the Black-Legged Deer Tick, Ixodes Scapularis Say, in Mississippi" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 1612.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/1612