32nd Annual Student Research Conference
Tick Abundance and Seasonality in Two Locations in Central Missouri
Michael J. Grasing
Dr. Carolina Sempertegui, Faculty Mentor
Amblyomma americanum is Missouri’s most common tick species and a carrier of bacterial pathogens. Our goal is to add to knowledge of tick distributions and their relationship to tick-borne infections in humans in central Missouri. We collected ticks from Knob Noster State Park, in Johnson County, Missouri and Mark Twain National Forest, in Boone County, Missouri. Collections were performed from March to November, using dry ice traps and drag sampling. We predicted that tick abundance would be greater in Mark Twain National Forest, which had higher rates of tick-borne disease in humans. Nearly all the 7,553 collected ticks were A. americanum. More nymphs were found in Knob Noster while more adults were found in Mark Twain National Forest, but differences were not significant. Overall, this study is relevant because it gives insight into the outlook of tick-borne infections in Missouri in the future.
Keywords: Amblyomma americanum, lone star tick, central Missouri, tick-borne infection, ehrlichiosis
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 8-8
Location: SUB GEO
Time: 3:00