title: Geographic information systems and spatial analysis of adult Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in the Middle Atlantic region of the U.S.A.
abstract: In the Middle Atlantic region of the U.S.A., the vector of Lyme disease, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, and other human and veterinary pathogens is the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say. In 1997 and 1998, 663 adult I. scapularis ticks were collected from 320 transects spanning 66,400 km2 in five states of the Middle Atlantic region. Tick abundance patterns were clustered, with relatively high numbers along the coastal plain of the Chesapeake Bay, decreasing to the west and south. There were significant associations between tick abundance and land cover, distance to water, distance to forest edge, elevation, and soil type.
authors.affiliation: United States Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Bunnell
authors.forename: Susan D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Abhik
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Timothy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.forename: Gregory E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Glass
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017931:DNA Primers; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D008873:Mid-Atlantic Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011156:Population Density; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers