Wildlife Disease Ecology
Identifying strategic research priorities in the conservation and management of native, exotic and invasive wildlife populations at the livestock interface
Summary
An improved understanding of wildlife epidemiology will allow for the identification of intervention strategies which will in turn benefit wildlife health, agricultural productivity, biodiversity and human health.
Publications
Paddock, CD, J Hecht, AN Green, KA Waldrup, PD Teel, SE Karpathy and TL Johnson. 2020. Rickettsia parkeri in the sky islands of West Texas. Journal of Medical Entomology.
Johnson, TL, CB Graham, SE Maes, A Hojgaard, A Fleshman, KA Boegler, MJ Delorey, KS Slater, SE Karpathy, JKH Bjork, DF Neitzel, EK Schiffman, and RJ Eisen. 2018. Prevalence and distribution of seven human pathogens in host-seeking Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) nymphs in Minnesota, USA. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 9(6):1499-1507.
Johnson, TL, JKH Bjork, KA Boegler, RJ Clark, MJ Delorey, FM Door, AJ Monaghan, DF Neitzel, EK Schiffman, and RJ Eisen. 2018. An acarological risk model predicting the density and distribution of host-seeking Ixodes scapularis nymphs in Minnesota, USA. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 98(6):1671-1682.
Sage, KM*, TL Johnson*, MB Teglas, NC Nieto, and TG Schwan. 2017. Ecological niche modeling of the distribution of tick-borne relapsing fever in western North America. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 11(10):e0006047. *denotes equal contribution and shared first-authorship
Johnson, TL, CB Graham, A Hojgaard, NE Breuner, SE Maes, KA Boegler, AJ Replogle, LC Kingry, JM Petersen, L Eisen, and RJ Eisen. 2017. Isolation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia mayonii from Naturally Infected Rodents in Minnesota. Journal of Medical Entomology, 54(4):1088-1092.
Johnson, TL, RJ Fischer, SJ Raffel, and TG Schwan. 2016. Host associations and genomic diversity of Borrelia hermsii in an endemic focus of tick-borne relapsing fever in Western North America. Parasites and Vectors, 9:575
Johnson, TL, E Stone, and EL Landguth. 2016. Modeling Relapsing Disease Dynamics in a Host-vector Community. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 10(2):e0004428.
Johnson, TL, JKH Bjork, DF Neitzel, FM Dorr, EK Schiffman, and RJ Eisen. 2016. Habitat suitability model for the distribution of black-legged ticks, Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae), in Minnesota. Journal of Medical Entomology 53(3):598-606.
Johnson, TL, JF Cully, Jr., SK Collinge, C Ray, CM Frey, and BK Sandercock. 2011. Spread of sylvatic plague among black-tailed prairie dogs is associated with colony spatial characteristics. Journal of Wildlife Management 75(2):357-368.
Cully, JF, Jr.*, TL Johnson*, SK Collinge, and C Ray. 2010. Disease limits populations: plague and black-tailed prairie dogs. Vector-borne Zoonotic Diseases 10(1):7-15.*denotes equal contribution and shared first- authorship
Fischer, RJ, TL Johnson, SJ Raffel, and TG Schwan. 2009. Identical strains of Borrelia hermsii in mammal and bird. Emerging Infectious Diseases 15(12):2064-2066.
Research projects
Interspecies Pathogen Transmission
Interactions between native, exotic and invasive species can have strong implications for interspecies pathogen transmission events. Gaining a better understanding of the interactions among and within these groups is imperative to defining the risks of interspecies pathogen transmission which may lead to emergence of pathogens and vectors in geographic locations and species not previously recognized.
Climate and vector-borne diseases
Climate, especially temperature and precipitation can have dramatic impacts on disease vectors including reproduction, survival, and biting rate, as well as influencing the survival and development rates of the pathogens that they carry. Characterizing the effects of climate and drought on vector-borne disease transmission is essential to informing the spread, emergence and maintenance of vector-borne…
Movement of vectors and disease-causing pathogens by feral hogs
Feral hogs (Sus scrofa) occupy most counties in Texas and move across the landscape with ease, providing an ideal opportunity for the movement of vectors and pathogens. The objective of this research is to quantify the involvement of invasive feral swine in the movement of vectors and disease-causing pathogens in the South Texas Plains and the…
Learn more Movement of vectors and disease-causing pathogens by feral hogs
Exotic ungulates, Bovine babesiosis, and tick vectors
We aim to investigate the role of native and exotic wildlife species in the spread of cattle fever ticks (Rhipicephalus microplus and R. annulatus) and the potential reemergence of bovine babesiosis in the US. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and Nilgai antelope (Boselaphus tragocamelus) have been implicated in the movement of cattle fever ticks Rhipicephalus spp. in South Texas, but…
Learn more Exotic ungulates, Bovine babesiosis, and tick vectors
Program Faculty and Staff
Dr. Tammi Johnson
Assistant Professor of Wildlife Disease Ecology
[email protected]
830-988-6142
Publications
A full selection of Dr. Johnson’s publications is available ResearchGate along with information about researchers and peer-reviewed publications across The Texas A&M University System.
