BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 December 2012 Relationship between Habitat Type, Fire Frequency, and Amblyomma americanum Populations in East-Central Alabama
Damien Willis, Robert Carter, Chris Murdock, Benjie Blair
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Ticks were collected from 20 sites in the Calhoun, Cherokee, and Cleburne Counties in east-central Alabama areas to determine the relationship between plant physiognomy, environmental variables, and tick populations. Sites investigated included various burning regimes, wildland-urban—interface (WUI), a college campus, and an unmanaged area. Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae) dominated the tick population while Ixodes scapularis Say was not encountered. There were complex differences in tick populations among site conditions. After prescribed burning, the tick population size was small but was larger in subsequent 2- and 5-year post-burn sites. An increase in Odocoileus virginianus foraging in recently burned sites is likely responsible for this phenomenon. WUI areas had the largest tick populations likely due to Odocoileus virginianus activity in an area that provides cover, forage, and a connection to a wildlife refuge. It is possible that the likelihood of humans coming in contact with ticks and tick-borne diseases is greater in WUI areas than in unbroken contiguous forest. A. americanum showed a positive correlation with percent cover of grass and leaf litter mass and a negative relationship with pine sapling density. Variables expected to be strongly correlated with A. americanum populations such as soil moisture, canopy closure, and tree density were found to have weak correlations.

Damien Willis, Robert Carter, Chris Murdock, and Benjie Blair "Relationship between Habitat Type, Fire Frequency, and Amblyomma americanum Populations in East-Central Alabama," Journal of Vector Ecology 37(2), 373-381, (1 December 2012). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1948-7134.2012.00241.x
Received: 10 April 2012; Accepted: 1 May 2012; Published: 1 December 2012
JOURNAL ARTICLE
9 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Amblyomma americanum
prescribed fire
white-tailed deer
wildland-urban-interface
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top