TICK COLLECTION CRITERIAProject titleMichael Cherry| Dr. Ben Clarke| Bridges and Pathways Program 2010

TICK COLLECTION• What criteria and procedures should be

used when collecting ticks in the ‘wild’?

PROJECT OVERVIEW• Where ticks are located• Survey techniques should be consistent• Use of standardized equipment• Integrity of Data Collection Criteria and

methods of recording

WHERE ARE TICKS LOCATED IN THE MIDWEST?• Near or in deciduous forests• Dry to mesic (moderate moisture) forests• Alfisol-type soils of sandy or loam-sand

textures overlying sedimentary rock• Along ecotones (boundaries between

varying ecosystems)

ALFISOL SOILS• Alfisols are a soil order in

USDA soil taxonomy. Alfisols form in semiarid to humid areas, typically under a hardwood forest cover. They have a clay-enriched subsoil and relatively high native fertility. "Alf" refers to Aluminium (Al) and Iron (Fe).

Alfisol from East Tennessee. http://www.uamont.edu/facultyweb/francis/soilprofiles/soilprofilepage.htm

WHERE ARE TICKS NOT LOCATED IN THE MIDWEST?• Near coniferous forests• Grasslands • Wet and very damp forests• Acidic soils of low fertility and a clay soil

texture• Precambrian bedrock

CONSTRUCTION OF DRAGGING EQUIPMENT– 70 x 90cm piece of light-colored corduroy– 1cm diameter wooden dowel along leading

edge– Steel rod sewn into trailing edge for added

weight– Rope or wood handle to allow front edge of

‘sheet’ to contact vegetation

COLLECTION TECHNIQUES FROM SCHULZE/JORDAN• Same individual should perform the dragging for

consistency– Speed, height

• Collected hourly from 0600 – 2100 hours• 100m long transects, collect every 10m to prevent

ticks from falling off• Ramdomize dragging order, direction of travel,

location within each transect (left, right, center) to minimize repeated dragging of same areas

• Minimize dew collection by drying on running pickup truck hood– To minimize effects of moisture on tick collection

STATISTICS• For each sampling event (each hour) (use

of Weather Station):– Ambient Temperature– Ambient Humidity– Place Weather Station in center of area, 1m

above vegetation height– Litter temperature and humidity (digital

thermometer)• At least 2.5cm below leaf litter surface but not into

the soil

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS• Use of repeated measures of analysis of variance• Use of multiple linear regression to examine

relationships• Use separate regressions for each species• Tolerance value of 0.1 is acceptable• Calculate temp gradient: subtract hourly litter temp

from ambient• Calculate humidity gradient: subtract litter H from

ambient H• Use Pearson correlation and linear regression to

determine relationships between calculated gradients and numbers of questing ticks

CONCLUSION• Consistency regarding the gathering of

ticks and in measuring and recording statistics are critical to success

WORKS CITED• Meteorologically Mediated Diurnal

Questing of Ixodes Scapularis and Amblyomma Americanum Nymphs – Terry Schulze and Robert Jordan Journal of Medical Entomology (2003)

• Distribution of the Common Tick, Ixodes ricinus, in different vegetation types in Southern Sweden – Anders Lindstrom and Thomas Jaenson, Journal of Medical Entomology (2003)