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Active Forest Management Reduces Blacklegged Tick and Tick-Borne Pathogen Exposure Risk

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Abstract

In the northeastern USA, active forest management can include timber harvests designed to meet silvicultural objectives (i.e., harvesting trees that meet certain maturity, height, age, or quality criteria). Timber harvesting is an important tool in enhancing regeneration and maintaining forest health. It also has considerable potential to influence transmission dynamics of tick-borne pathogens, which are deeply embedded in the forest ecosystem. We conducted a 2-year study to test the hypotheses that recent timber harvesting impacts blacklegged tick density and infection prevalence in managed nonindustrial forests. We found that (1) recent harvesting reduces the presence of nymphal and density of adult blacklegged ticks, (2) recently harvested stands are characterized by understory microclimate conditions that may inhibit tick survival and host-seeking behavior, (3) capture rates of small mammal species frequently parasitized by immature ticks are lower in recently harvested stands compared to control stands with no recent harvest history. In addition, a 1-year pilot study suggests that harvesting does not affect nymphal infection prevalence. Collectively, our results demonstrate that forest structure and understory conditions may impact ticks and the pathogens they transmit via a range of mechanistic pathways, and moreover, active forest management may offer sustainable tools to inhibit entomological risk of exposure to tick-borne pathogens in the landscape.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Grace Cullinane, Troy Cloutier, Alyssa Marini, and Samantha Nigida for their assistance with field data collection, Brandon Lieberthal and Alessio Mortelliti for their assistance with statistical analyses, Anne Lichtenwalner, Ann Bryant and Tom Rounsville for their assistance with tick-borne pathogen detection assays, and members of the Gardner Lab at the University of Maine for their helpful feedback throughout the study. We thank Blue Hill Heritage Trust, Carter Nature Preserve, and three private landowners for land use permission. This study was supported by a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant (Project No. ME012450318) to AMG and JEL, Hatch funds through the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (Project Nos. ME021826 and ME021905) to AMG, and a University of Maine Graduate Student Government grant to CEC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, 5722 Deering Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Christine E. Conte & Allison M. Gardner

  2. School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, 5755 Nutting Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Jessica E. Leahy

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  1. Christine E. Conte
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  2. Jessica E. Leahy
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  3. Allison M. Gardner
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Correspondence to Allison M. Gardner.

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Conte, C.E., Leahy, J.E. & Gardner, A.M. Active Forest Management Reduces Blacklegged Tick and Tick-Borne Pathogen Exposure Risk. EcoHealth 18, 157–168 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-021-01531-1

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