The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.ĭata Availability: The authors confirm that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restriction. This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. Received: JAccepted: OctoPublished: November 6, 2014 Brayton, Washington State University, United States of America These data indicate that regular prescribed burning is an effective tool for reducing tick populations and ultimately may reduce risk of tick-borne disease.Ĭitation: Gleim ER, Conner LM, Berghaus RD, Levin ML, Zemtsova GE, Yabsley MJ (2014) The Phenology of Ticks and the Effects of Long-Term Prescribed Burning on Tick Population Dynamics in Southwestern Georgia and Northwestern Florida. scapularis at UBB, and a more even composition at BUB. Tick species composition varied according to burn regime with A. scapularis) regardless of the burn regimes and variables evaluated. Long-term prescribed burning consistently and significantly reduced tick counts (overall and specifically for A. Monthly seasonality trends were similar between 20. In total, 47,185 ticks were collected, of which, 99% were Amblyomma americanum, 0.7% were Ixodes scapularis, and fewer numbers of Amblyomma maculatum, Ixodes brunneus, and Dermacentor variabilis. Twenty-one plots with varying burn regimes (burned surrounded by burned, burned surrounded by unburned, unburned surrounded by burned, and unburned surrounded by unburned ) were sampled monthly for two years while simultaneously collecting data on variables that can affect tick abundance (e.g., host abundance, vegetation structure, and micro- and macro-climatic conditions). Furthermore, we targeted a region, southwestern Georgia and northwestern Florida (USA), in which little is known regarding tick dynamics so that basic phenology could be determined. Therefore, our study was conducted to increase knowledge of tick population dynamics relative to long-term prescribed fire management. However, the efficacy of prescribed burning as a mechanism for tick control is unclear because past studies have provided conflicting data, likely due to a failure of some studies to simulate operational management scenarios and/or account for other predictors of tick abundance. One promising management strategy is prescribed burning. Management strategies that can effectively reduce tick populations while better understanding regional tick phenology is needed. Some tick populations have increased dramatically in the past several decades leading to an increase in the incidence and emergence of tick-borne diseases.
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