Tick, Pathogen, and Wildlife biodiversity report for 4

Project overview

We sampled 16 forested properties across Philadelphia, Delaware, and Chester counties in southeastern Pennsylvania from May to November 2019. We collected ticks at all 16 of these properties, and deployed trail cameras to photograph wildlife at 10 properties. We sampled 5 of your properties. We sampled ticks at the following properties: A, D, I, O, P. We used trail cameras to photograph wildlife at the following properties: D, I, O, P.

In this report you’ll find the following information: (i) tick species identification, (ii) tick-borne diseases, (iii) wildlife photographed

Tick species overview

Over the course of our study, we found five tick species across the 16 properties that we surveyed. Here are photos of what the five species look like at different life stages:

Here is a summary of the different hosts the tick species feed on in their preferred habitat, geographic range, and the diseases they carry:
Tick species Hosts Habitat Geographic range Diseases transmitted
Black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) Any vertebrate, often associated with deer and mice Deciduous forest Most common tick in the eastern US Lyme disease, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Bartonellosis, Borrelia miyamotoi, and Powassan virus
American dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis) Vertebrate hosts from mice to large animals Areas with low tree cover, near paths East Coast to Rocky Mountains, and California Tularemia, Ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Brown dog ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) Prefer to feed on dogs, but will feed on other mammals In and around human settlements Worldwide, but most common in warm southern US Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) Vertebrate hosts from mice to large animals (aggressively seek hosts) Woodlands and dense undergrowth Common in Southern US, and are spreading North Tularemia, Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). Bite may also cause an allergy to red meat.
Asian longhorned ticks (Haemaphysalis longicornis) Livestock are preferred hosts, but also feeds on pets, wildlife, and humans Unclear in the US Native to Asian countries including China, Japan, and Korea; however, they have recently been discovered in the United States Transmit several diseases to humans in Asia, but it is unknown if they do so in the United States.


Ticks found on your properties

Site American Dog Tick Black Legged Tick Brown Dog Tick Lone Star Tick Longhorned Tick
A No Yes No No No
D No Yes No No No
I No Yes No No No
O Yes Yes No No Yes
P No Yes No No No

These bar plots show the total abundance of ticks of each species found on your property. We have also included additional bars to show how your sites compare to the average number of ticks found on properties that we sampled in Philadelphia, Delaware, and Chester counties.


Tick-borne diseases

We tested black-legged ticks for three common tick-borne diseases: Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, and Babesiosis. We only tested nymph ticks as this is the life stage which most commonly infects humans.
Disease Description Symptoms Transmission time
Lyme disease Most common tick-borne disease in the United States; bacterial infection Many individuals experience no symptoms. May cause a bullseye rash around the tick bite, accompanied by flu-like symptoms. If untreated, infection can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system. 18-24 hours
Anaplasmosis Infection of the white blood cells, triggering an immune response Flu-like symptoms 10 hours
Babesiosis Infection of the red blood cells, causing them to rupture Flu-like symptoms, blood clots, and low blood pressure 36-48 hours

Diseases found

At each of your properties, nymphs tested positive for agents of the following tick-borne diseases:
Site Number of nymphs tested Lyme disease Anaplasma Babesia
A 3 Yes No No
D 9 Yes No Yes
I 28 Yes No No
O 5 Yes Yes Yes
P 3 Yes No No


These pie charts show the proportions of ticks tested in each county which were uninfected, infected with a single disease, or coinfected with multiple diseases:


Please visit the Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab for more information on tick species and pathogens.

Wildlife biodiversity

We used trail cameras to survey wildlife at 10 sites in Philadelphia, Delaware, and Chester counties. This information will later be used to analyze relationships between tick-borne diseases and tick hosts, but these photos also provide a record of biodiversity at your property. Over the course of the study, we photographed 16 species across the 10 sites. While we targeted medium- to large-sized mammals, we also photographed some birds and small mammals.


The bar graphs below show the total number of species photographed at your property relative to the average number of species photographed at sites in each county.


Across sites, the most commonly photographed species were white-tailed deer and eastern gray squirrels. However, the activity of each species varied strongly by site. The number of photos of a species can serve as a proxy for how active or abundant that species is, relative to other species and locations.

These are the species that we found at each of your sites, as well as any species we did not detect on your property.
Site Present at your site Not seen at your site
D Bird, Dog, Domestic cat, Eastern Chipmunk, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Groundhog, Opossum, Rabbit, Raccoon, Raptor, Red fox, White-tailed deer Coyote, Mouse, Skunk, Southern Flying squirrel
I Bird, Dog, Domestic cat, Eastern Chipmunk, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Groundhog, Mouse, Opossum, Raccoon, Red fox, White-tailed deer Coyote, Rabbit, Raptor, Skunk, Southern Flying squirrel
O Bird, Dog, Domestic cat, Eastern Chipmunk, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Groundhog, Raccoon, Red fox, White-tailed deer Coyote, Mouse, Opossum, Rabbit, Raptor, Skunk, Southern Flying squirrel
P Bird, Dog, Eastern Chipmunk, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Opossum, Rabbit, Raccoon, Raptor, Red fox, White-tailed deer Coyote, Domestic cat, Groundhog, Mouse, Skunk, Southern Flying squirrel


Below, you can see the number of photos of each species taken at your properties compared to the average number of photos per species in each county. Note that the order of the legend follows the order of the colors in each bar segment from right to left.

Below, you can find a selection of photos from each of your sites. We have included the files for these photos along with your report. Please feel free to use them in any way you like.

Further Information


Thank you for allowing us to survey your properties for this project! We hope you find this report informative on how your properties contribute to the biodiversity of southeastern Pennsylvania.

The Integrative Ecology Lab at Temple University (iEcoLab) will continue working on the biodiversity of Pennsylvania for years to come. For more information and news about our work please visit our lab webpage. You can also follow us on Instagram @integrative.ecology and Facebook @IntegrativeEcology.

This report was created by iEcoLab members Payton Phillips, Dan Turner (current address: Michigan State University), Victoria Ramirez, Dr. Matthew Helmus and Dr. Jocelyn Behm under a creative commons license. This means that we hope you share this with whomever and use this report however you like.

We really value your input and interest in this research. If we didn’t address any of your pressing questions or if you have general comments about the report, please email Payton at payton.phillips@temple.edu.