Impacts of climate change on the geographic range expansion of ticks and tick-borne disease in Maine
PI: Gardner, Allison (Biology and Ecology, UMaine)
Sector: Ecology, Climate Change
Partners: UMaine
Abstract: The goal of our project is to investigate causal ecological and physiological mechanisms by which climate may alter human risk of exposure to tick-borne disease in Maine, and integrate these data with climate change projections for the State of Maine to develop predictive tick-borne disease risk maps. The blacklegged tick first appeared in Maine during the 1980s, and its geographic range expansion has been associated with a concomitant increase in the incidence of tick-borne disease. Recently, 58% of Acadia National Park visitors identified increased risk of exposure to vector-borne disease as a top concern among the potential consequences of climate change. This study will assess the current geographic distribution of the blacklegged tick and its key hosts. We will conduct field-based assays to investigate the effects of temperature patterns (e.g., cold shocks versus extended periods of cold) on off-host tick survival. Finally, we will develop a predictive spatial model of Lyme disease risk by integrating the field-collected data with climate change projections for the State of Maine.