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Parasitology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Parasitology

Exploration Of Stable Isotope Analysis To Identify Prior Host In Ixodes Scapularis, Imogene Welles Jun 2020

Exploration Of Stable Isotope Analysis To Identify Prior Host In Ixodes Scapularis, Imogene Welles

Honors Theses

One of the most enigmatic concepts in tick-borne disease ecology is how to identify the prior host of a questing tick. The ability to do so would provide predictions to directly aid in controlling the spread of the many tick-borne pathogens, including the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease in humans. I explored the application of a novel technique, stable isotope analysis (SIA), to identify the most recent host in molted Ixodes scapularis (black-legged tick). The common reservoir and feeding host, Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mice; n = 46), were trapped, infested with nymphal ticks, and fed restricted …


Cercarial Parasitism Of Freshwater Snails In Sandhills Ponds Versus Streams, Caroline Emily Spethman Oct 2019

Cercarial Parasitism Of Freshwater Snails In Sandhills Ponds Versus Streams, Caroline Emily Spethman

Honors Theses

Parasite prevalence was calculated for all aquatic snails collected from four freshwater localities in Western Nebraska from Summer 2016 to 2019: Dunwoody Pond, Haythorn Ranch, Neven’s Restoration, and Breen’s Flyaway. With data of increasing trematode cercarial infection specifically at Dunwoody Pond, this community was further studied. In Summer 2019, a total of 217 freshwater snails representing species of Physa sp., Stagnicola elodes (Say,1821), and Helisoma anceps (Menke,1830) were collected from Dunwoody Pond and Dunwoody stream, near Ogallala, Nebraska. Eighty-one snails were collected from Dunwoody Pond, 76 snails were collected 31 meters upstream, and 60 snails were collected 61 meters upstream …