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Habitat fragmentation and host community composition are implicated as key drivers of changing tick populations and tick‐borne pathogen dynamics, altering infection risk through coupled socioecological pathways that mediate interactions between tick vectors, vertebrate hosts, and humans. Patterns of host diversity may be particularly idiosyncratic across urbanized landscapes, due to trade‐offs between extreme fragmentation that reduces habitat suitability and access, and human activities that artificially increase resource availability for wildlife. We used camera and hair trap surveys and tick sampling to identify links between landscape composition and configuration, the mammalian host community, and the presence of three tick vector species at a human–wildlife interface in New York City, an emerging area within an endemic region for several tick‐borne diseases. We found that human infrastructures, such as the presence of fences in yards, could affect mammal host community composition by changing the "hardness" of edges between urban greenspaces and residential areas. We identified yard‐ and broader landscape‐level features associated with the presence of urban mammal species, and identified cascading effects of host community composition on tick distribution in yards, suggesting management implications for the mitigation of human exposure to tick‐borne pathogens. In particular, we identified a possible role of ubiquitous mesomammals, such as raccoons (Procyon lotor), in transporting Amblyomma americanum ticks between parks and neighboring residential yards, and confirmed the key role of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for introducing Ixodes scapularis ticks into yards. Our results challenge assumptions that biodiversity loss in human‐modified areas always increases the risk for tick‐borne diseases. Instead, we found many residential sites had higher mammal species richness and higher detection of low reservoir competent ("dilution") hosts for Borrelia burgdorferi, such as opossums (Didelphis virginiana), than paired forested greenspaces. Our study highlights the importance of disentangling the mechanisms mediating tick‐borne disease hazard as a critical first step toward reducing urban tick‐borne disease risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is the most commonly reported arthropodborne disease in the United States and Europe (1). In the eastern United States, this disease is caused by Borrelia [...]

The invasive Asian longhomed tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, is rapidly becoming an agricultural and epidemiologic concern in the United States. Native to eastern Asia, this tick is a major pest of [...]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gentrification operates as a social driver of health that can increase tick‐borne disease (TBD) risk for communities of color through either population displacement or land‐use change. Research on the emergence of TBDs in urban environments has primarily focused on the ecological processes of urban landscapes that facilitate favorable habitats for host reservoirs and tick vectors. However, neglecting to view infectious disease risk from a socioecological framework will continue to result in policies and planning that disadvantage communities of color. Using Lyme disease as a case study, we integrated elements of environmental epidemiology, ecology, public health, and urban planning to propose pathways of gentrification as a socioecological process with public health implications. By drawing connections between urban ecology, urban planning, and environmental racism, we seek to bring awareness to disease ecologists, policy makers, and public health managers on the potential role of gentrification as a driver of tick‐borne pathogen exposure. Front Ecol Environ 2022; [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of pathogen spillover from wildlife to human hosts, particularly in densely populated urban centers. Prevention of future zoonotic disease is contingent on informed surveillance for known and novel threats across diverse human–wildlife interfaces. Cities are a key venue for potential spillover events because of the presence of zoonotic pathogens transmitted by hosts and vectors living in close proximity to dense human settlements. Effectively identifying and managing zoonotic hazards requires understanding the socio‐ecological processes driving hazard distribution and pathogen prevalence in dynamic and heterogeneous urban landscapes. Despite increasing awareness of the human health impacts of zoonotic hazards, the integration of an eco‐epidemiological perspective into public health management plans remains limited. Here we discuss how landscape patterns, abiotic conditions, and biotic interactions influence zoonotic hazards across highly urbanized cities (HUCs) in temperate climates to promote their efficient and effective management by a multi‐sectoral coalition of public health stakeholders. We describe how to interpret both direct and indirect ecological processes, incorporate spatial scale, and evaluate networks of connectivity specific to different zoonotic hazards to promote biologically‐informed and targeted decision‐making. Using New York City, USA as a case study, we identify major zoonotic threats, apply knowledge of relevant ecological factors, and highlight opportunities and challenges for research and intervention. We aim to broaden the toolbox of urban public health stakeholders by providing ecologically‐informed, practical guidance for the evaluation and management of zoonotic hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• No pathogens were recovered from any life stage, questing or host-derived ticks. • Virus enrichment and shotgun bacterial metagenomics approaches were utilized and analyzed. • H. longicornis is potentially not a vector of tick-borne pathogens in NYC. Haemaphysalis longicornis , the Asian longhorned tick, is an invasive tick species that has spread rapidly across the northeastern and southeastern regions of the United States in recent years. This invasive pest species, known to transmit several tick-borne pathogens in its native range, is a potential threat to wildlife, livestock, domestic animals, and humans. Questing larval (n = 25), nymph (n = 10), and adult (n = 123), along with host-derived adult (n = 25) H. longicornis ticks were collected from various locations on Staten Island, NY. The pathobiome of each specimen was examined using two different high throughput sequencing approaches, virus enrichment and shotgun metagenomics. An average of 45,828,061 total reads per sample were recovered from the virus enriched samples and an average of 11,381,144 total reads per sample were obtained using shotgun metagenomics. Aside from endogenous viral sequences, no viruses were identified through either approach. Through shotgun metagenomics, Coxiella -like bacteria , Legionella , Sphingomonas , and other bacterial species were recovered. The Coxiella -like agent was ubiquitous and present at high abundances in all samples, suggesting it may be an endosymbiont. The other bacterial agents are not known to be transmitted by ticks. From these analyses, H. longicornis do not appear to host any endemic human tick-borne pathogens in the New York City region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]