Resource selection by New York City deer reveals the effective interface
between wildlife, zoonotic hazards, and humans
Abstract
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 behavior and resource
utilization by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
determine the distribution of blacklegged ticks (Ixodes
scapularis) which depend on this host for dispersal in a highly
fragmented New York City borough. Multi-scale hierarchical resource
selection analysis and movement modeling provide insight into how deer’s
individual movements construct the risk landscape for human exposure to
the Lyme disease zoonotic hazard – infected I. scapularis. We
conclude the distribution of tick-borne disease risk is the result of
individual resource selection by deer across spatial scales in response
to habitat fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbances.