The Introduction

Hey everyone my name is Kristin Anicito and I am working on a study in South Carolina with Hofstra University along with 4 other universities. We are all working together to compare the prevalence of Lyme disease in the south, northeast and north Midwest of America. Each region is looking at tick density on the lizards, small mammals (i.e. mice) and medium sized mammals (i.e. raccoons and opossums). South Carolina, unlike the northeast and north Midwest, has very few cases of Lyme disease even though there are plenty of ticks in the area. This discrepancy is believed to be in part due to the biodiversity or the difference in genetic codes in the southern deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis). Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and is carried most commonly by I. scapularis (which we affectionately call Iscap). All research on these ticks has shown that they will feed on mammals, birds and lizards. The white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) is the most common host of Ixodes sp. and easily obtains and transmits Lyme disease. Some animals are able to clean the ticks of the bacteria, and are unable to carry the infection themselves. The animals that are unable to carry the infection are called reservoir incompetent. By cleaning the ticks of infection, the rate of infection will decrease in the wild population; this is referred to as dilution. Lizards and some birds species commonly act as diluters. The western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), found in west North America are completely reservoir incompetent and are credited to be a major role in decreasing the density of Lyme disease.
In South Carolina we will be catching many lizards including the eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulates) and Anolis (Anolis carolinensis). We will also be trapping a variety of mice species including deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), opossums (Didelphis virginiana), and raccoons, along with many others.