Abstract
Tick-borne diseases are on the rise throughout the world, and there is a need to better understand tick behavior in order to identify potential new interventions. Ticks have a complex life history and can survive months off-host. There is a lack of large-scale data on off-host tick behavior, which leaves a gap in understanding of tick biology outside of tick-host interactions. Introducing undergraduate students to authentic research early in their studies can help prepare them for independent inquiry in upper-level classes. To address the student needs and fill gaps in tick research, students in introductory biology courses recorded observations of ticks in sealed terraria each week for one semester. Students recorded 11,905 observations of two species of nymphal ticks over 10 weeks. The results showed that Amblyomma americanum nymphs were observed more frequently and quested higher than Ixodes scapularis nymphs.
Recommended Citation
Benham, Sara; Dutta, Shovan; Maddamsetti, Rohan; Wright, Clayton; Anderson, Alena; Gauthier, David T.; and Gaff, Holly D.
(2024)
"Contrasting Tick Species Behaviors: A Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE),"
Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics: Vol. 10, 1–6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61403/2473-5493.1081
Available at:
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/spora/vol10/iss1/2
