NEON ticks sampled using drag cloths and tick pathogen status
Citation
Paull S (2022). NEON ticks sampled using drag cloths and tick pathogen status. National Ecological Observatory Network. Sampling event dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/b52b9z accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-12-15.Description
This data product contains the quality-controlled, native sampling resolution data from NEON’s Tick and Tick-Borne Pathogen sampling crosswalked to Darwin Core. NEON tick sampling targets hard ticks in the family Ixodidae. The dataset includes collection, identification and pathogen testing data from 2014 – 2020. Data are collected across the United States including Alaska and Puerto Rico, but excluding Hawaii. Tick abundance and diversity are sampled at regular intervals using drag or flag sampling techniques. Collected ticks are identified to species and lifestage and/or sex by a professional taxonomist. A subset of identified nymphal ticks are tested for the presence of bacterial and protozoan pathogens. For additional details, see https://data.neonscience.org/data-products/DP1.10093.001 and https://data.neonscience.org/data-products/DP1.10092.001.Sampling Description
Study Extent
This study includes data from 46 terrestrial field sites located across the United States including Alaska and Puerto Rico. Sampling occurs during the growing season every 3 weeks at sites with established tick populations (defined as capturing > 5 ticks in the previous field season), and every 6 weeks at sites without established tick populations. A subset of nymphal ticks are sent for pathogen testing once per year.Sampling
Ticks are collected along the border of a 40m x 40m plot using drag and/or flag sampling techniques. There are 6 plots sampled at each NEON site. Samples are sent to an external laboratory where they are enumerated and identified by a professional taxonomist. A bout of sampling is only performed if the high temperature in the 2 days prior to sampling is >0C. Sampling is only performed when the ground is dry and during periods of low wind (below 10-20 mph). The hottest part of the day is also avoided during the summer months.Quality Control
Many quality control measures are implemented at the point of data entry within a mobile data entry application or web user interface (UI). For example, data formats are constrained and data values controlled through the provision of dropdown options, which reduces the number of processing steps necessary to prepare the raw data for publication. An additional set of constraints are implemented during the process of ingest into the NEON database. Data collected prior to 2017 were processed using a paper‐based workflow that did not implement the full suite of quality control features associated with the interactive digital workflow.Method steps
- Data from the 2022 data release were downloaded from the National Ecological Observatory Network data portal. Data included information on tick collection, identification and pathogen testing. The identification data were expanded to allow each row to represent a single tick to allow for documentation of associatedOccurrences.
Taxonomic Coverages
This dataset covers hard ticks collected using the drag/flag method including: Ixodes pacificus, Amblyomma americanum, Amblyomma maculatum, Dermacentor andersoni, Dermacentor occidentalis, Dermacentor variabilis, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, Haemaphysalis longicornis, Ixodes affinis, Ixodes angustus, Ixodes dentatus, Ixodes marxi, Ixodes muris, and Ixodes scapularis. This dataset also covers testing results for several tick-borne pathogens including: Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Borrelia lonestari, Borrelia mayonii, Borrelia myamotoi, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, Ehrlichia muris-like, Francisella tularensis, and Rickettsia rickettsii.
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Ixodidaecommon name: hard ticks rank: family
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Ixodes sp.rank: genus
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Dermacentor sp.rank: genus
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Haemaphysalis sp.rank: genus
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Amblyomma sp.rank: genus
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Borrelia sp.rank: genus
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Anaplasma phagocytophilumrank: species
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Ehrlichia sp.rank: genus
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Babesia microtirank: species
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Francisella tularensisrank: species
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Rickettsia rickettsiirank: species
Geographic Coverages
Data are collected at 46 terrestrial NEON sites across the United States including Alaska and Puerto Rico, but excluding Hawaii.
Bibliographic Citations
Contacts
Sara Paulloriginator
position: Research Scientist
National Ecological Observatory Network
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5589-9568
Sara Paull
metadata author
position: Research Scientist
National Ecological Observatory Network
email: paull@battelleecology.org
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5589-9568
Kate Thibault
administrative point of contact
position: Lead Research Scientist
National Ecological Observatory Network
email: kthibault@battelleecology.org
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3477-6424
Sara Paull
administrative point of contact
position: Research Scientist
National Ecological Observatory Network
email: paull@battelleecology.org
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5589-9568