Document Detail


Influence of prescribed burns on the abundance of Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) in the Missouri Ozarks.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19769033     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The increasingly widespread use of prescribed burns to manage oak (Quercus spp.)-hickory (Carya spp.) forests in the Missouri Ozarks, USA, has considerable potential to alter the abundance of Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae), the lone star tick, an important vector of several emerging pathogens. In particular, responses of important tick hosts, primarily white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), to fire management and the resultant changes in the distribution and abundance of A. americanum are largely unknown. Using several large burn units (61-242 ha) within the Ozark ecosystem, I measured the effect of the time elapsed since sites were burned on the density of white-tailed deer and the larval life stage of A. americanum. Larval tick densities were highest in areas that were 2 yr postburn and were > 6 times higher than tick densities in control units. Deer densities were highest in sites that were burned in the same year as this study and decreased significantly with time since burn. These results suggest that intensive use of postburn sites by white-tailed deer may increase the abundance of A. americanum to levels greater than occurs in sites that remain unburned. Thus, fire management, although beneficial in many aspects of ecosystem management, may bear the unintended cost of locally increasing abundance of A. americanum.
Authors:
Brian F Allan
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of medical entomology     Volume:  46     ISSN:  0022-2585     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Med. Entomol.     Publication Date:  2009 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-09-22     Completed Date:  2009-10-27     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0375400     Medline TA:  J Med Entomol     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1030-6     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA. ballan@wustl.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Deer / parasitology*
Ecosystem*
Fires*
Ixodidae*
Larva
Missouri
Population Density

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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