How Deer Ticks (a.k.a. Black-legged Ticks) Aquire the Lyme Disease Bacteria.

We explored several additional factors associated with Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis) populations and the implications that factor into Lyme Disease epidemiology.  This video details the tick life cycle and how the ticks become infected with the bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) that causes Lyme Disease.  Deer Ticks are a common ectoparasite that feeds on several mammal and bird species in the northeast.  Ticks require several blood meals in during their lives to survive, develop into later life stages, and to reproduce.  Although these blood meals are very important for ticks, they inhabit the forest soils during most of their lives and are greatly impacted by the soil habitat.  The videos below introduce you to some of the important processes that influence deer tick populations such as soil moisture, temperature, and diversity of other invertebrates living in the soil ecosystem.