The Daily Bulletin

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar “Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology of Ticks and Tick-borne Disease in New York State,” presented by Collin OConner, M.S., on Monday, February 10, at 3:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 214. Collin OConnor is associated with the New York State Department of Health, as well as a faculty member of the Biology Department at Buffalo State University. Attendees are welcome to arrive at 2:30 p.m. to enjoy coffee and cookies leading up to the seminar.

Research Seminar Abstract: New York State is an ecologically diverse geopolitical region within the United States, holding both the largest park in the contiguous United States (the Adirondack Park) and the most populous city (New York City). At the intersection of the rurality and urbanicity of New York State are a continuum of highly fragmented and highly connected ecotones partially responsible for an epidemic of tick-borne diseases that have plagued New Yorkers for decades. New York State owns the highest number of reported Lyme disease cases per year in the United States and incidence continues to increase. In response, New York State Department of Health’s Vector Ecology Laboratory conducts a statewide, multi-laboratory, collaborative effort to monitor rates of tick-borne pathogens in New York State’s Ixodes scapularis populations. Beyond surveillance, the Vector Ecology Laboratory conducts eco-epidemiological research to explain the dynamics of tick-borne pathogen movement in the state. The movement of one such pathogen, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, is linked to the interaction between its population genetics, mammalian reservoir hosts, and forest ecology. Here, we describe how the dynamics of pathogen, vector, host, and landscape composition affect the health of New York State’s residents.