Date Presented

Spring 5-18-2025

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Ms. Kimberly Geier

Second Advisor

Dr. John Styrsky

Third Advisor

Dr. Erin J. Friedman

Abstract

Ticks serve as a major vector of arthropod-borne pathogens that could affect human populations. Ixodes scapularis, Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, and Haemaphysalis longicornis populations have been commonly reported in the state of Virginia, and can carry pathogens potentially fatal to humans. I. scapularis serves as a vector of Borrelia burgdorferi (the bacterium that causes Lyme disease), A. americanum has been found to carry Ehrlichia chaffeensis (the bacterium that causes Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis), D. variabilis can carry Rickettsia rickettsii (the bacterium that causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever), and H. longicornis has been found to transmit protozoan Theileria orientalis to livestock. Over the last several decades, increasing global temperatures and the migration and expansion of host organisms’ ranges have led to greater distribution of tick species across the U.S. Therefore, it is important to monitor tick populations in order to study changes in pathogen prevalence among communities in contact with humans. Since 2021, the University of Lynchburg’s Biology Department has been performing tick collection with the use of canvas tick drag apparatuses purchased from BioQuip in an attempt to monitor pathogen prevalence in the Central Virginia region through microbial DNA sampling. Unfortunately, these drag cloths have been unsuccessful in collecting ticks, and one hypothesis for this failure is that the rigidity of the canvas material is unsuitable for tick collection. The purpose of this study is to increase the efficiency of tick collection protocol by testing the effectiveness of alternative cloth materials. Three cloth materials (corduroy, flannel, and muslin cloth) selected for their varying textural qualities were tested against the existing canvas. Tick sampling was performed at four local park sites in Lynchburg, VA between the months of August-November of 2024. Plots of 400-m2 were sampled at each site, and each cloth material visited each location twice over the sampling period. Collected ticks were counted and identified to species, life stage, and sex if possible. Reaffirming our prior assumptions, canvas was found to perform significantly worse when compared to all other tested cloth materials. However, no further effect was found between cloth material or location on the mean number of ticks collected. Over the course of the sampling period larvae were primarily collected, with collection of adult and nymph life stages dwindling past mid-September. Primarily H. longicornis were collected, with A. americanum the only other species collected during sampling, aligning with species composition data provided by the Virginia Department of Health. Although statistical analysis was unable to identify a drag cloth of superior performance, observations on ease of use in the field indicate muslin is most efficient for tick dragging protocol. Modifications to standard tick dragging protocol made during this study will allow for the University of Lynchburg to more efficiently monitor pathogen prevalence among tick species in the Central Virginia region.

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