26th Annual Student Research Conference
Modeling the Influence of Abiotic Factors on Larval Dermacentor
variabilis Burden on Peromyscus leucopus.
Hailey E. Cahill* and Eli T. Jackson
Dr. Stephanie Fore and Dr. Hyun-Joo Kim, Faculty Mentors
Larval tick burden on rodents is an important component in understanding infectious disease dynamics. The objective of our proposed research is to develop a statistical model and find important variables to describe larval Dermacentor variabilis burden on Peromyscus leucopus, the primary host in northeast Missouri. Immature D. variabilis burden has been shown to be positively associated with host body mass, male mice, and mice captured in the field habitat. Data were collected from 2006 to 2012, using live traps on two permanent grids in a field and forest habitat. We will extend previous research on host related variables to include abiotic factors such as degree days, saturation deficit, precipitation total, and day length.
Keywords: Dermacentor variabilis, Peromyscus leucopus, larval tick burden, regression modeling
Topic(s):Mathematical Biology
Biology
Statistics
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 204-1
Location: MG 2001
Time: 9:30