Investigating the Relationship Between Small Mammal Abundance and Tick Burden
Faculty Mentor
Krisztian Magori
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
5-7-2025 11:30 AM
End Date
5-7-2025 11:50 AM
Location
PUB 317
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Biology
Abstract
Ticks are important vectors of numerous diseases, and their populations are closely tied to the availability of suitable hosts. Small mammals, particularly rodents, play a key role in supporting tick life cycles and maintaining tick-borne pathogens such as Lyme disease in the environment. We hypothesize that areas with higher small mammal abundance will exhibit higher levels of tick burden, as greater host availability may support larger tick populations.
We will set several live traps across multiple habitat types at Eastern Washington University and Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge overnight and check them the following morning for study subjects. As time permits, we will complete multiple trapping outings at each study site. We will also run 3 transect lines randomly through each study site and measure vegetation along these lines to get an overarching picture of the vegetative environment at each site. Captured small mammals will be identified to species and carefully examined for ticks which will be collected, counted, and identified. Trapping in a variety of locations will allow us to compare different environmental conditions and assess how habitat variation influences small mammal populations and tick burden.
We expect to find a positive correlation between small mammal abundance and tick burden. By analyzing these patterns, we aim to better understand host-parasite dynamics and the factors that contribute to the risk of tick-borne disease. This project will provide valuable experience in field techniques, small mammal handling, tick collection, and ecological data analysis, while contributing important insights to the field of disease ecology.
Recommended Citation
Eddy, Tobiah; Gies, Alivia M.; Borodin, Angela V.; Partido, Antonete; and Collins, Makenna, "Investigating the Relationship Between Small Mammal Abundance and Tick Burden" (2025). 2025 Symposium. 8.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2025/op_2025/o1_2025/8
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Investigating the Relationship Between Small Mammal Abundance and Tick Burden
PUB 317
Ticks are important vectors of numerous diseases, and their populations are closely tied to the availability of suitable hosts. Small mammals, particularly rodents, play a key role in supporting tick life cycles and maintaining tick-borne pathogens such as Lyme disease in the environment. We hypothesize that areas with higher small mammal abundance will exhibit higher levels of tick burden, as greater host availability may support larger tick populations.
We will set several live traps across multiple habitat types at Eastern Washington University and Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge overnight and check them the following morning for study subjects. As time permits, we will complete multiple trapping outings at each study site. We will also run 3 transect lines randomly through each study site and measure vegetation along these lines to get an overarching picture of the vegetative environment at each site. Captured small mammals will be identified to species and carefully examined for ticks which will be collected, counted, and identified. Trapping in a variety of locations will allow us to compare different environmental conditions and assess how habitat variation influences small mammal populations and tick burden.
We expect to find a positive correlation between small mammal abundance and tick burden. By analyzing these patterns, we aim to better understand host-parasite dynamics and the factors that contribute to the risk of tick-borne disease. This project will provide valuable experience in field techniques, small mammal handling, tick collection, and ecological data analysis, while contributing important insights to the field of disease ecology.
