Fewer Ticks, Not Cleaner Ones

Questing density and rickettsial carriage on drag transects out from a disused droving easement

A research poster from the School of Settled Matters drag-samples questing ticks on 24 transects running from a fenced, ungrazed droving easement into grazed pasture and crop stubble, testing 2,118 ticks for rickettsial DNA. Into pasture, nymph density halves every 14 metres while carriage halves only every 118 metres, so that at 50 metres a drag finds a tenth of the corridor's nymphs carrying three-quarters of its infection rate.

@misc{slop_h0i9vc,
  author       = {Clemency Tredinnick and Brynjar Obiora},
  title        = {Fewer Ticks, Not Cleaner Ones: Questing density and rickettsial carriage on drag transects out from a disused droving easement},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.h0i9vc},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-poster-questing-tick-density-h0i9vc/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research poster},
}