| Amblyomma americanum, the lone star tick, is of rising importance as a vector of pathogens in humans and other animals throughout the United States. To better understand risk of pathogen transmission, this thesis elucidates how environmental and demographic factors influence patterns of A. americanum activity throughout its life cycle in northeast Missouri. Predictive statistical models describing the number of active off-host larvae, nymphs, and adults from 2007-2013 indicated that broad-scale environmental variables are useful in gauging seasonal and daily patterns of tick activity. Distinct trends in activity observed across habitats were not apparent when comparing questing height of field and forest nymphs under laboratory conditions, suggesting that habitat heavily modifies microenvironment to influence tick behavior. Additionally, as newly-molted A. americanum adults were not observed to resume host-seeking concurrently with overwintered ticks, age-related differences in behavior within life stages may further contribute to patterns of A. americanum activity. |
