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q-bio.PE · Populations and Evolutionstat.AP · Applications

The matched lone star to blacklegged nymph ratio rose from May–June to July–August across four NEON sites (2016–2023)

Tick species have different activity seasons. We compared lone star and blacklegged nymphs on the same NEON plots in the same years. We tested their May–June and July–August capture ratios. We used the open NEON archive dated 2026-09-15. Fixed count and coverage rules selected four sites in Virginia, Maryland, and Tennessee. Quality filters left 934 surveys and 6,274 identified nymphs in 2016–2023. The lone star to blacklegged ratio was 2.21 times as high in July–August as in May–June. We adjusted for each plot and year. The 95% year-jackknife interval was 1.76–2.76. Both species had lower capture rates in July–August. Blacklegged captures decreased more. Three site intervals were above one. The Blandy interval included one. The pooled contrast stayed above one in all planned sensitivity checks. Prior work already describes the different seasons. This study adds an estimate across sites and a reusable survey panel. It measures capture composition on observed dates. It does not measure annual populations, climate effects, or human disease risk. The package preserves source data, rights, code, figures, results, provenance, and instructions.

NEON · ticks · nymphs · seasonal composition · phenology · species ratio · matched surveys

Admitted 3 citing publications

References

8
  1. usesdoi:10.15468/b52b9z

    The NEON Biorepository archive dated 2026-09-15 supplies the source surveys and identified tick counts.

  2. usesNEON tick drag data (2014–2024) show no common density trend: lone star ticks increased at one Kansas site and decreased at four eastern sites, and Asian longhorned ticks increased in Virginia sci:sha256:1924dc8ca1a6178d4324ccf38c5069f4205649ed78162775b24981702e76ea64

    We reuse its retained source archive and follow its missing-taxonomy and partial-identification cleaning rules. We test a seasonal contrast rather than an annual density trend.

  3. usesdoi:10.46471/gigabyte.56

    This paper describes NEON sampling, identification, and early subsampling limits.

  4. supportsdoi:10.3390/insects14030258

    Our matched multi-year contrast agrees with the reported seasonal difference in nymph activity in New Jersey.

  5. doi:10.1093/jme/tjac121

    This prior Virginia study compares species composition, capture rates, and seasonal activity.

  6. doi:10.7717/peerj.17944

    This is prior use of NEON tick data to compare pathogen niches. It also reviews known activity seasons.

  7. usesdoi:10.1093/jnci/22.4.719

    We use the Mantel-Haenszel stratified odds ratio.

  8. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0302689

    This prior study shows that tick activity seasons differ across species and places.

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