BDN interviews Elias for article on invasive Japanese barberry, ticks

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

August 9, 2018 Climate Change, Cooperative Extension, Outreach, UMaine in the News

The Bangor Daily News interviewed Susan Elias, a vector ecologist at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute and a research associate at the Lyme and Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute, for an article about how the invasive Japanese barberry bush helps ticks survive in Maine. Barberry, which was introduced to North America in the 19th century, creates a microclimate of higher humidity and lower temperatures suitable for ticks. It covers area from Nova Scotia to South Carolina to Montana, according to UMaine Cooperative Extension. “Barberry thickets actually make a pretty good habitat, not just for ticks but for some of their host species,” said Elias, referring to mice and other small animals. “There are places in southern Maine where barberry has completely taken over the understory of the forest,” Elias said. “Barberry forms a dark thicket, and very little can survive those shady conditions.” About a decade ago, the United States Centers for Disease Control awarded a grant to a research team Elias was part of, for studying habitats associated with deer ticks. The connection to barberry emerged from this research. Clearing barberry can reduce the abundance of ticks and the risk of Lyme disease, and it is recommended that the plant is cleared every five years. Cooperative Extension recommends mechanical removal in a bulletin included in the article. “Barberry is very hard to remove, but where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Elias said. Maine Public carried the BDN article.