title: Distribution of Ticks and Prevalence ofBorrelia burgdorferiin the Upper Connecticut River Valley of Vermont.
abstract: Ixodes scapularis(Black-legged Tick) has expanded its range in recent decades. To establish baseline data on the abundance of the Black-legged Tick andBorrelia burgdorferi(causative agent of Lyme disease) at the edge of a putative range expansion we collected 1398 ticks from five locations along the Connecticut River in Vermont. Collection locations were approximately evenly distributed between the villages of Ascutney and Guildhall. Relative abundance and distribution by species varied across sites. Black-legged Ticks dominated our collections (n= 1348, 96%), followed byHaemaphysalis leporispalustris(Rabbit Tick,n= 45, 3%) andDermacentor variabilis(American Dog Tick,n= 5, <1%). Black-legged Tick abundance ranged from 6198 ticks per survey hectare (all life stages combined) at the Thetford site to zero at the Guildhall site. There was little to no overlap of tick species across sites. Phenology of Black-legged Ticks matched published information from other regions of the northeastern USA. Prevalence ofB. burgdorferiin adult Black-legged Ticks was 8.9% (n= 112).
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Sciences, Lyndon State College, Lyndonville VT, 05851.
authors.forename: Abigail C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Serra
authors.affiliation: Analytical Services, Inc., Williston VT, 05495.
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Warden
authors.affiliation: Analytical Services, Inc., Williston VT, 05495.
authors.forename: Colin R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Fricker
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Sciences, Lyndon State College, Lyndonville VT, 05851.
authors.forename: Alan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Giese