Resource selection by New York City deer reveals the effective interface between wildlife, zoonotic hazards and humans

• Published in: Ecology letters Vol. 26; no. 12; pp. 2029 - 2042
• Main Authors: VanAcker, Meredith C., DeNicola, Vickie L., DeNicola, Anthony J., Aucoin, Sarah Grimké, Simon, Richard, Toal, Katrina L., Diuk‐Wasser, Maria A., Cagnacci, Francesca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-12-2023
• Subjects: Animal diseases; Anthropogenic factors; Empirical analysis; Habitat fragmentation; Health risks; Infectious diseases; Lyme disease; Movement ecology; Parasitic diseases; Resource utilization; Risk; Tick-borne diseases; Vector-borne diseases; Wildlife; United States > US; New York City New York
• ISSN: 1461-023X; 1461-0248
• DOI: 10.1111/ele.14326

Although the role of host movement in shaping infectious disease dynamics is widely acknowledged, methodological separation between animal movement and disease ecology has prevented researchers from leveraging empirical insights from movement data to advance landscape scale understanding of infectious disease risk. To address this knowledge gap, we examine how movement behaviour and resource utilization by white‐tailed deer (
Odocoileus virginianus
) determines blacklegged tick (
Ixodes scapularis
) distribution, which depend on deer for dispersal in a highly fragmented New York City borough. Multi‐scale hierarchical resource selection analysis and movement modelling provide insight into how deer's movements contribute to the risk landscape for human exposure to the Lyme disease vector–
I. scapularis
. We find deer select highly vegetated and accessible residential properties which support blacklegged tick survival. We conclude the distribution of tick‐borne disease risk results from the individual resource selection by deer across spatial scales in response to habitat fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbances.