AUTHORS: Zack Wilson, University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point; Maddie Hartlaub, University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point; Dr. Shelli Dubay, University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point; Dr. Travis Livieri, Prairie Wildlife Research; Dr. Ben Sedinger, University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point
ABSTRACT: Grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) commonly co-occur on grasslands in South Dakota and may be parasitized by Ixodes sculptus and I. kingi tick species. These ticks could serve as bridging vectors for tularemia (Francisella tularensis), a zoonotic bacterial disease, in the grassland ecosystem. Tularemia has caused mortality in prairie dogs, deer mice, and grasshopper mice. Small mammal abundance has been shown to increase on prairie dog complexes. We aim to identify relationships between small mammal densities, prairie dog burrow densities, and tick abundance on hosts in Conata Basin/Badlands National Park, South Dakota. We placed 100 Sherman traps in a 150 x 150 m grid on sites designated as high, medium, and low prairie dog burrow densities. Once mice were trapped, we combed them for 30 seconds and then systematically searched them for ticks. Ectoparasites were counted per individual and placed in ethanol for identification. We hypothesized that the number of small mammals trapped and the abundance of ticks parasitizing them would be positively correlated with prairie dog burrow density. In 2023, we collected 231 ticks on 135 trapped deer and grasshopper mice across two sampling areas in Badlands National Park. In 2024, we expect to find that tick abundance on deer and grasshopper mice will increase with prairie dog burrow density, however, due to allogrooming, we do not expect tick abundance to increase on prairie dogs.
