Correlation between Abundance of Deer and That of the Deer Tick, Ixodes dammini (Acari: Ixodidae)

Abstract

To determine whether the abundance of the northern deer tick, Ixodes dammini is dependent upon that of white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Boddaert), the host most frequently parasitized by adult ticks, we compared the relative abundance of deer and of immature ticks on 13 islands in Massachusetts. Abundance of larval I. dammini attached to white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus (Raphinesque), correlated with density of deer pellet groups, and was greatest on islands having resident deer and least on islands with few signs of deer. This relationship did not hold in the case of nymphal ticks. Deer density may largely determine abundance of larvae by affecting success of adult engorgement and subsequent reproduction. The more diffuse distribution of nymphal ticks may, in part, be explained by the tendency of larval (but not adult) ticks to be transported between islands while feeding on birds.