Table 2.
Tick encounter rate, DTV prevalence, and ERI for adult and nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks collected in five habitat types at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells, ME, 2018–2021
| Stage | Habitat Type | Transect(s) | Tick Encounter Rate*† | Prevalence‡§ | ERI†‖ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Mean (95% CI) | Significance | Total | + | % (95% CI) | Significance | Mean (95% CI) | Significance | |||
| Adult | Forest w/invasive | 3, 4 | 764 | 54.6 (45.9, 63.2) | A¶ | 742 | 24 | 3.2 (2.0, 4.5) | A¶ | 1.7 (0.9, 2.5) | A |
| Edge | 7, 8 | 544 | 44.1 (34.4, 53.8) | A | 529 | 9 | 1.7 (0.6, 2.8) | AB | 0.7 (0.2, 1.3) | AB | |
| Shrub | 1, 2 | 546 | 42.6 (25.4, 59.8) | B | 524 | 6 | 1.1 (0.2, 2.1) | B | 0.5 (0.0, 0.9) | BC | |
| Forest w/native | 9, 10 | 137 | 11.8 (8.7, 15.0) | C | 127 | 1 | 0.8 (0.0, 2.3) | AB | 0.1 (0.0, 0.3) | C | |
| Field | 5, 6 | 47 | 3.8 (0, 8.8) | D | 42 | 0 | 0 | AB | 0 | C | |
| All habitats | – | 2,038 | – | 1,964 | 40 | – | – | – | – | ||
| Nymph | Forest w/invasive | 3, 4 | 286 | 20.4 (16.0, 24.9) | A | 230 | 1 | 0.4 (0.0, 1.3) | A | 0.1 (0.0, 0.2) | A |
| Edge | 7, 8 | 95 | 7.7 (2.9, 12.5) | C | 78 | 0 | 0 | A | 0 | A | |
| Shrub | 1, 2 | 12 | 1.0 (0.3, 1.6) | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | A | 0 | A | |
| Forest w/native | 9, 10 | 140 | 12.1 (7.7, 16.5) | B | 103 | 1 | 1.0 (0.0, 2.9) | A | 0.1 (0.0, 0.3) | A | |
| Field | 5, 6 | 5 | 0.4 (0, 0.9) | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | A | 0 | A | |
| All habitats | – | 538 | – | – | 424 | 2 | – | – | – | – | |
DTV = deer tick virus; ERI = entomological risk index; Forest w/invasive = forest with invasive vegetation in the understory; Forest w/native = forest with native vegetation in the understory.
Mean number of ticks collected/hour; n = 20 plots/habitat.
Same letters indicate that values are not statistically different (pairwise Wilcoxon rank sum tests, P <0.05).
Number of DTV-positive ticks/total tested.
Same letters indicate that values are not statistically different (Fisher’s exact test, P <0.05).
Mean number of infected ticks collected/hour; n = 20 plots/habitat.
Mean ticks/hour and DTV prevalence in “forest w/invasive” were marginally greater than those in edge, P = 0.06 and 0.09, respectively.