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. 2023 Jul 12;14(7):628.
doi: 10.3390/insects14070628.

Tick Densities and Infection Prevalence on Coastal Islands in Massachusetts, USA: Establishing a Baseline

Allison A Snow  1   2 , Patrick Pearson  3 , Guang Xu  3 , David N Allen  4 , Roberto Santamaria  5 , Stephen M Rich  3
Affiliations

Tick Densities and Infection Prevalence on Coastal Islands in Massachusetts, USA: Establishing a Baseline

Allison A Snow et al. Insects. .

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases and a tick-induced red meat allergy have become increasingly common in the northeastern USA and elsewhere. At the scale of local communities, few studies have documented tick densities or infection levels to characterize current conditions and provide a baseline for further monitoring. Using the town of Nantucket, MA, as a case study, we recorded tick densities by drag sampling along hiking trails in nature preserves on two islands. Nymphal blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis Say) were most abundant at shadier sites and least common in grasslands and scrub oak thickets (Quercus ilicifolia). Lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum L.) were common on Tuckernuck Island and rare on Nantucket Island, while both tick species were more numerous in 2021 compared to 2020 and 2022. We tested for pathogens in blacklegged nymphs at five sites over two years. In 2020 and 2021, infection levels among the four Nantucket Island sites averaged 10% vs. 19% for Borrelia burgdorferi, 11% vs. 15% for Babesia microti, and 17% (both years) for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, while corresponding levels were significantly greater on Tuckernuck in 2021. Our site-specific, quantitative approach represents a practical example of how potential exposure to tick-borne diseases can be monitored on a local scale.

Keywords: Lyme disease; anaplasmosis; babesiosis; blacklegged tick; lone star tick; tick-borne pathogen.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of nine study sites established on Nantucket Island and one on Tuckernuck Island in 2020. In 2021, two sites were added on Nantucket to document invading Amblyomma americanum (Long Pond and Clark’s Cove); tick symbol shows sites where A. americanum densities were measured. Inset map shows eastern Massachusetts.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Density of Ixodes nymphs at 9 sites on Nantucket and one site on Tuckernuck Island in 2020–2021. Average of 4 sampling days per site per year (±1 SE).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Average densities of Amblyomma americanum on (A) Tuckernuck Island (one site, 2020–2022), and (B) Nantucket (two sites, 2021, 2022). Averages (±1 SE) based on 4 days of sampling per site per year, except for 2021 on Nantucket with 3 days of sampling.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Ixodes scapularis nymphal infection prevalence for four sites on Nantucket Island and one site on Tuckernuck Island in 2020 vs. 2021. Shown with 95% CI; see Table 2 for sample sizes. Mean infection prevalence across four sites on Nantucket is shown with 95% CI based on mean sample sizes.
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