Tick-, Mosquito-, and Rodent-Borne Parasite Sampling Designs for the National Ecological Observatory Network [Special Feature: NEON Design]

Authors

Yuri P. Springer, National Ecological Observatory NetworkFollow
David Hoekman, National Ecological Observatory Network
Pieter T.J. Johnson, University of Colorado, BoulderFollow
Paul A. Duffy, Neptune and Company
Rebecca A. Hufft, Denver Botanic Gardens
David T. Barnett, National Ecological Observatory Network
Brian F. Allan, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignFollow
Brian R. Amman, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Christopher M. Barker, University of California, DavisFollow
Roberto Barrera, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Charles B. Beard, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Lorenza Beati, Georgia Southern University
Mike Begon, University of Liverpool
Mark S. Blackmore, Valdosta State University
William E. Bradshaw, University of Oregon
Dustin Brisson, University of Pennsylvania
Charles H. Calisher, Colorado State University
James E. Childs, Yale UniversityFollow
Maria A. Diuk-Wasser, Columbia University
Richard J. Douglass, Montana Tech
Rebecca J. Eisen, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Desmond H. Foley, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Janet E. Foley, University of California, Davis
Holly D. Gaff, Old Dominion University
Scott Lyell Gardner, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Howard S. Ginsberg, U.S. Geological Survey
Gregory E. Glass, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Sarah A. Hamer, Texas A & M University
Mary H. Hayden, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Brian Hjelle, University of New Mexico
Christina M. Holzapfel, University of Oregon
Steven A. Juliano, Illinois State University
Laura D. Kramer, New York State Department of Health
Amy J. Kuenzi, Montana Tech
Shannon L. LaDeau, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Todd P. Livdahl, Clark University
James N. Mills, Emory University
Chester G. Moore, Colorado State University
Serge Morand, Centre d’Infectiologie Christophe Mérieux du Laos
Roger S. Nasci, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Nicholas H. Ogden, Public Health Agency of Canada
Richard S. Ostfeld, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Robert R. Parmenter, Valles Caldera National Preserve
Joseph Piesman, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
William K. Reisen, University of California, Davis
Harry M. Savage, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Daniel E. Sonenshine, Old Dominion University
Andrea Swet, San Francisco State University
Michael J. Yabsley, University of Georgia

Date of this Version

5-2016

Document Type

Article

Citation

Ecosphere (May 2016) 7(5): Article e01271.

Comments

U.S. government work.

Abstract

Parasites and pathogens are increasingly recognized as significant drivers of ecological and evolutionary change in natural ecosystems. Concurrently, transmission of infectious agents among human, livestock, and wildlife populations represents a growing threat to veterinary and human health. In light of these trends and the scarcity of long-term time series data on infection rates among vectors and reservoirs, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will collect measurements and samples of a suite of tick-, mosquito-, and rodent-borne parasites through a continental-scale surveillance program. Here, we describe the sampling designs for these efforts, highlighting sampling priorities, field and analytical methods, and the data as well as archived samples to be made available to the research community. Insights generated by this sampling will advance current understanding of and ability to predict changes in infection and disease dynamics in novel, interdisciplinary, and collaborative ways.