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Bird–tick and human–tick encounters in the Rio Grande Valley (Texas, USA): ecological associations and pathogen detections

Parasites & Vectors volume 18, Article number: 95 (2025) Cite this article

Abstract

Background

The tropical climate and diverse vector community allows the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas to support many vector-borne pathogen transmission cycles. It is a key area for monitoring bird ticks, since most of the migratory birds fly through this corridor to move for south tropical latitudes. Some of the tick species that infest birds in Texas can also transmit tick-borne pathogens that concern public health.

Methods

During bird banding activities in 2019–2024, ticks were collected opportunistically from local and migrant birds, as well as from outdoor recreationalists, to explore the presence of tick-borne pathogens. Applying a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-DNA sequencing approach, ticks were tested for Ehrlichia and Rickettsia species.

Results

Of 375 ticks, eight tick species were identified, including species regarded as locally established (Amblyomma inornatum, Amblyomma maculatum, Amblyomma mixtum, Amblyomma tenellum, and Dermacentor variabilis), neotropical species imported by migratory birds (Amblyomma geayi and Amblyomma longirostre), and for the first time in Texas, Ixodes keiransi, formerly the North American lineage of Ixodes affinis. Amblyomma tenellum was the most abundant tick species (89.3%). All ticks were screened for Ehrlichia, resulting in Ehrlichia chaffeensis detection in three A. tenellum ticks (one nymph and two adults) found on humans, and one positive for Ehrlichia ewingii in an A. inornatum nymph collected from a Clay-colored Thrush (Turdus grayi). Both bacteria can cause human ehrlichiosis, which is infrequently reported in Texas. The Rickettsia screening of ticks resulted in detection of Rickettsia amblyommatis, a potentially pathogenic spotted fever group Rickettsia, in nine ticks: eight A. inornatum ticks (one larva, five nymphs and two adults), seven of which were collected from Long-billed Thrashers (Toxostoma longirostre); and an A. longirostre engorged nymph from an Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens).

Conclusions

Our results highlight the importance of occupational exposure to ticks and the potential public health impact of the relatively neglected human-biting vector, A. tenellum.. There is also a critical need to investigate the fate of bird-imported A. inornatum and A. longirostre, and the pathogens they carry.

Graphical Abstract

Background

The number of tick bite cases reported in the south-central area is generally lower compared with other United States (US) regions [1]. However, its strategic Nearctic–Neotropical location as an animal migration passage, and the expansion of tick distribution caused by climate change, spotlight Texas in a focus of zoonotic diseases [2, 3]. The transboundary region of Rio Grande, a natural border between South Texas and northeast Mexico, is an area vulnerable to outbreaks owing to overlapping distributions of vectors and reservoirs of tick-borne diseases (TBDs) [2].

Given the diverse bird community along the border, and the importation of neotropical ticks on spring migratory birds arriving to the southern US [4, 5], Texas is a key area for monitoring bird ticks and their implications for human health. Most of the migratory birds fly through South Texas [6], highlighting the importance of this region for not only birds, but the parasites they harbor. Some of the tick species that infest birds in Texas, such as Amblyomma americanum, Amblyomma maculatum, and Amblyomma inornatum [4, 7, 8], can also parasitize humans and transmit tick-borne pathogens that concern public health. For example, the role of A. inornatum as a potential vector of Ehrlichia, Borrelia, and Rickettsia species was reported in a surveillance study of questing ticks in South Texas [7].

Several TBDs are underreported, in part because they have similar symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, muscle or joint aches, making it difficult to seek medical care and diagnoses, especially in vulnerable populations at risk for TBDs owing to occupational environments [9, 10]. Ehrlichiosis is a rare disease in Texas [11] yet the number of cases has increased in recent years [12]. The bacteria Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, and Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis are the causative agents of ehrlichiosis in the USA, and their primary vectors are A. americanum and Ixodes scapularis ticks [13], but other tick species could be potential vectors. For instance, it was recently suggested that Amblyomma tenellum (formerly Amblyomma imitator) is a potential vector of E. chaffeensis, the causative agent of human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis [14].

Spotted fever group rickettsiosis (SFGR) are also reported in Texas [15], caused by bacteria including Rickettsia rickettsii, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and several other species of SFGR occur in the tick populations of Texas [16]. Since new Rickettsia species are continuously being discovered it has suggested that we could expect the emergence of tick-borne rickettsioses [17]. Hence, it is critical to research tick populations to monitor emerging and neglected tick-borne diseases. In this study, we describe a diverse tick community and report the tick-borne microorganisms circulating through bird–tick and human–tick encounters in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas to describe novel ecological relationships and evaluate public health risks.

Methods

Tick sampling and bird banding

The study was carried out in the Arroyo Colorado unit of Las Palomas Wildlife Management area (ARUN) located at 26.317° N, 97.524° W in Cameron County, an area of the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. We collected ticks opportunistically that were attached to birds, as well as those crawling or attached to humans, during bird banding activities between 2019 and 2024. Birds were captured weekly with 4–12 mist nets (36 mm mesh) opened between sunrise and 1100 CST. Each bird was banded with a unique US Geological Survey (USGS) leg band and examined for the presence of ticks. All ticks were collected with fine-tipped forceps and placed into a microcentrifuge tube with 70% ethanol for identification.

Tick identification

Ticks were identified according to different morphological keys [18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26] under a stereomicroscope. For confirmatory purposes, those specimens whose morphological identification was inconclusive were molecularly identified applying a PCR-DNA sequencing approach.

The DNA of individual ticks was extracted using the E.Z.N.A. tissue DNA kit (Omega Bio-Tek, Norcross, GA). Each tick was sliced with a sterile scalpel blade in a tube to open the idiosome and facilitate contact with lysis buffer. The ticks were incubated at 55 °C before completing the extraction according to the manufacturer’s instructions. For the molecular identification we performed a PCR to amplify the 12S mitochondrial ribosomal DNA (rDNA) using the T1B and T2A primers [27] and sequenced the 360-bp products (Table 1). Reactions of 15 µl were performed using 1.5 µl of extracted tick DNA with 0.75 µM of each primer, and FailSafe PreMix E buffer and enzyme (Epicentre Technologies Corp., Chicago, IL). To confirm some tick species, it was necessary to carry out additional PCRs on a subset of samples to amplify a region of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2), the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) mitochondrial gene, and 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene (Table 1).

Table 1 Primers used for the molecular identification of tick species
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The PCR products were visualized on 1.5% agarose gels. The positive samples were purified with ExoSAP-IT (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA), and Sanger sequencing was performed (Eton Biosciences, San Diego, CA). To facilitate identification, sequences were aligned and compared with a national database (NCBI Blast) using MEGA X software (2018). We considered that sequences with over 97% similarity in GenBank as belonging to the same species. Sequences of the ticks were deposited to GenBank (accession nos. PQ687577-PQ687589 for 12S, PQ699150-PQ699152 for ITS2, PQ687562 for 16S, and PQ691262 for COX1).

Pathogen detection

We screened ticks for the genus Ehrlichia using primers Ehr DSB 330F and Ehr DSB 728R to amplify a product of 398 bp of the disulfide oxidoreductase gene dsb [8]. Gel electrophoresis, Sanger sequencing, and sequence comparisons were performed as previously described. Those sequences identified as E. chaffensis and E. ewingii were tested additionally with specific primers. To determine the E. chaffeensis genotype we targeted the variable length PCR target gene (VLPT) of the encoded protein TRP32 [14], and for E. ewingii–specific amplicons we used primers for EE52 and HE3 of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene [28], followed by DNA sequencing.

Rickettsia species were detected by a quantitative real-time PCR assay that amplified a partial region of the 17KD gene using the primers R17K128 and R17K328, and the probe R17K202-FAM [29]. Confirmatory testing on the positive samples was accomplished by the amplification of a partial region of the citrate synthase gene gltA using the primers RrCS 372 and RrCS 989, resulting in a 617-bp product [8], followed by DNA sequencing. In addition, we targeted the outer membrane protein gene ompA of Rickettsia, commonly used to detect species of SFGR, following the semi-nested protocol described previously [30], with the primers RR190.70F and RR190.701R for the initial PCR, and RR190.602R for the second PCR.

We considered that sequences with over 98% similarity in GenBank as belonging to the same species, and for the classification of Rickettsia species, we followed the gene sequence-based criteria described previously [31]. Sequences of the pathogens were deposited to GenBank (accession nos. PQ730737-39 for VLPT, PQ730740-43 for dsb, PQ691265 for 16S, PQ730744-53 for gltA, and PQ730754-63 for ompA).

Data analysis

We evaluated the tick numbers collected and calculated the tick intensity for each bird species by dividing the number of ticks collected between the number of birds infested [32] for the graphical representation. Human–tick encounters refer to the ticks found crawling or attached to humans, this concept has been previously used to measure tick-borne disease risk [33, 34]. Data visualization included in this manuscript was performed using the software R Core Team (2021).

Results

Tick collections

We morphologically identified 375 ticks (39 larvae, 151 nymphs, and 185 adults) belonging to eight tick species (Fig. 1); for confirmatory purposes a subset of 82 ticks were also molecularly identified. Amblyomma tenellum was the most abundant species (89.3%) in the collection, followed by Dermacentor variabilis (3.5%), A. inornatum (2.9%), A. maculatum (1.6%), Amblyomma longirostre (0.8%), Amblyomma geayi (0.5%), Amblyomma mixtum (1.1%; included in the Amblyomma cajennense complex), and Ixodes keiransi (0.3%).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Sankey diagrams linking host–tick-pathogens detected during bird banding activities in South Texas, 2019–2024. The thickness of the lines represents the number of ticks. A Ticks found crawling or attached to humans (n = 356 ticks). B Tick intensity on different bird species examined (n = 19 ticks); sample size of birds is shown between parentheses

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The majority of ticks collected were found in human–tick encounters (94.9%), including 347 ticks found crawling and 9 A. tenellum specimens that were attached to the bird-banders (Table 2). In parallel, 19 ticks were collected from 12 birds of 8 different species (Table 3): Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens), Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), Clay-colored Thrush (Turdus grayi), Lincoln’s Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii), Long-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre), Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus), Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), and Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus).

Table 2 Ticks found crawling or attached to humans during banding activities between 2019 and 2024, Rio Grande Valley of South Texas
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Table 3 Ticks collected from birds during banding activities between 2019 and 2024, Rio Grande Valley of South Texas
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Nine A. inornatum ticks, including three adults, were collected in three Long-billed Thrashers, a bird species that lives year-round in southern Texas. Furthermore, we found two nymphs, identified as A. inornatum and A. tenellum, on two Clay-colored Thrushes, and an A. maculatum nymph on a Carolina Wren, both bird species are also year-round residents. In winter, we collected an A. maculatum nymph from a Lincoln’s Sparrow, a medium-distance migrant. Curiously, one I. keiransi nymph was found on a Red-shouldered Hawk also during this season. Moreover, three long-distance migratory species from South America—the Acadian Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, and Swainson’s Thrush—were trapped during spring migration, and infested with A. longirostre and A. geayi ticks.

Pathogen detection

We found that 1.1% (4/375) of the ticks were positive for an Ehrlichia species (Clopper–Pearson exact 95% CI 0.3–2.7%). Three A. tenellum ticks (0.9%), two unfed females and one nymph, found crawling on humans contained dsb gene sequences that were 99–100% identical to E. chaffeensis detected in A. tenellum ticks from South Texas (GenBank accession MZ457067 [14]. A phylogenetic tree of this gene comparing E. chaffeensis sequences available in GenBank with the positive samples obtained in this study showed our results are closely related to the sequence reported in South Texas (Fig. 2). Additional sequencing of the VLPT gene, encoding the protein TRP32, confirmed the same species of E. chaffeensis in those samples (GenBank accession MZ457069) [14] with 98% identity.

Fig. 2
figure 2

Phylogenetic tree of the dsb gene from Ehrlichia using the maximum likelihood method and Tamura–Nei model [41]; log likelihood − 1366.46. Sequences obtained in this study are marked with an asterisk (*). The percentage of trees in which the associated taxa clustered together is shown next to the branches. Initial tree(s) for the heuristic search were obtained automatically by applying Neighbor-Join and BioNJ algorithms to a matrix of pairwise distances estimated using the maximum composite likelihood (MCL) approach, and then selecting the topology with the superior log likelihood value. The rate variation model allowed for some sites to be evolutionarily invariable ([+ I], 33.54% sites). The tree is drawn to scale, with branch lengths measured in the number of substitutions per site. There was a total of 404 positions in the final dataset. Evolutionary analyses were conducted in MEGA X [42]

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Moreover, a nymph of A. inornatum collected from a Clay-colored Thrush contained DNA 99% similar to the dsb region from E. ewingii (GenBank accession KM458249; [7]) (Fig. 2), and 100% 16S rRNA identity to the same species through a confirmatory analysis (MN336353; [35]).

Overall, 3.5% (13/375) of the ticks were positive for a Rickettsia species (Clopper–Pearson exact 95% CI 1.8–5.8%). Eight out of eleven (72.7%) A. inornatum ticks produced gltA and ompA sequences with 99–100% identity to Rickettsia amblyommatis (GenBank accession CP003334; [36]) or a closely related Rickettsia species (gltA sequence GenBack accession MK112516 [37]; and ompA sequence GenBank accession OP375584 [38]) (Fig. 3). All these A. inornatum were collected from two Long-billed Thrasher birds, except one engorged nymph that was found crawling. We also detected R. amblyommatis in an engorged nymph of A. longirostre collected from an Acadian Flycatcher with a 100% match (ompA sequence MG787413; [39]. Four ticks were positive for other Rickettsia species. Three A. tenellum ticks, found crawling, that contained gltA sequences 91% similar to the Rickettsia endosymbiont Ixodes boliviensis (MW699694; [40]), and a nymph identified as I. keiransi collected from a Red-shouldered Hawk that contained a sequence 98% similar to the ompA sequence from the Rickettsia sp. isolate STexas-type2 (rickettsial endosymbiont from I. scapularis; MW008553 [41]) (Fig. 3) and 99.5% identity to the gltA sequence from an uncultured Rickettsia species (MT441702 [42]).

Fig. 3
figure 3

Phylogenetic tree of the ompA gene of Rickettsia species using the maximum likelihood method and the general time reversible model [51]; log likelihood -1213.84. Sequences obtained in this study are marked with an asterisk (*). The percentage of trees in which the associated taxa clustered together is shown next to the branches. Initial tree(s) for the heuristic search were obtained automatically by applying Neighbor-Join and BioNJ algorithms to a matrix of pairwise distances estimated using the maximum composite likelihood (MCL) approach, and then selecting the topology with the superior log likelihood value. A discrete gamma distribution was used to model evolutionary rate differences among sites [two categories (+ G, parameter = 0.3509)]. The tree is drawn to scale, with branch lengths measured in the number of substitutions per site. Codon positions included were 1st + 2nd + 3rd + noncoding. There was a total of 502 positions in the final dataset. Evolutionary analyses were conducted in MEGA X [42]

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Discussion

Amblyomma tenellum was the most abundant tick found on humans in this study in the RGV of South Texas; this tick species was redescribed as a valid species from southern Texas and Mexico, formerly named A. imitator [24] when it was considered as synonym of A. cajennense [25]. The most recent taxonomic studies [43, 44] redefined and updated the species related to the complex taxon A. cajennense, including A. cajennense sensu stricto, Amblyomma sculptum, A. mixtum, Amblyomma tonelliae, Amblyomma interandinum, and Amblyomma patinoi. Thus, the reexamination of material resulted in exclusion of A. tenellum from this group despite its similarity. In fact, A. tenellum nymphs are often confused with A. mixtum and A. americanum, as their distributions overlap in Texas [18], but it is genetically more closely related to A. americanum than to the A. cajennense group [43]. Apparently, A. tenellum specimens are likely to be found in southern Texas, i.e., Cameron and Hidalgo counties, feeding on a great diversity of hosts, including birds (Passeriformes: Mimidae and Turdidae) and humans, albeit sporadically [45]. Indeed, it was the only species found questing in a recent study conducted on the southern tip of coastal Texas [14], showing its predominance in the region. Most A. tenellum collected in our study were found crawling, likely encountered by humans while setting up or taking down mist netting equipment or checking nets for birds, as these activities place people close to vegetation where ticks may be questing. This scenario underscores the importance of checking for ticks in time, since they can be removed before attachment.

Amblyomma tenellum is a species of public health concern that has been reported as a potential vector of R. rickettsii, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever [46], and recently a novel E. chaffeensis genotype (a cause of human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis) has been characterized from this tick species [14]. The E. chaffeensis sequences obtained in this study were more closely related to this novel genotype than other strains reported in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), which may be expected given the studies were conducted in the same region. The Ehrlichia infection prevalence we report (0.9%) is comparable with other studies carried out in Texas (detections of E. chaffeensis in A. americanum ticks are reported from 0.2% to 8.8% [16, 35]), but it was higher than that previously reported for A. tenellum (0.1%) [14]. Our study, and that of [14], confirm the sustained presence of E. chaffeensis in southern Texas despite the lack of reported human ehrlichiosis cases. The occurrence of E. chaffeensis-infected unfed A. tenellum ticks (2 adults and 1 nymph) suggests that the bloodmeal hosts of the prior life stages served as the sources of infection to the ticks, given this bacterium is not known to be transovarially transmitted. White-tailed deer—which are abundant in South Texas—are a natural reservoir of E. chaffeensis [47], yet the role of deer or other animals in the enzootic maintenance of E. chaffeensis in South Texas has not been studied.

Interestingly, an increasing trend of canine ehrlichiosis has been documented in Texas [9, 48], apparently driven more by the seroprevalence of Ehrlichia canis transmitted by Rhipicephalus sanguineus, than E. chaffeensis and E. ewingii, which are transmitted mainly by A. americanum [49, 50], but are also detected in A. mixtum, A. maculatum, and A. inornatum [7, 8]. Cross-reactivity between Ehrlichia species on commercial diagnostic tests could explain this scenario of overlapping ehrlichiosis cases without knowledge of which tick vectors are causing these changes [50].

Amblyomma inornatum is a common species in southern Texas and Mexico [21, 22], where it finds a wide range of hosts to feed on, including birds [21]. It was the most prevalent tick species collected from birds in this study, especially non-migratory birds that breed in Texas. They also feed on humans, which led to a study of their role as a potential vector of pathogens of public health interest in Texas, finding Ehrlichia species in 7.1% of A. inornatum ticks [7]. We detected E. ewingii in an A. inornatum nymph collected from a Clay-colored Thrush, showing that Amblyomma species other than A. americanum may be involved in the maintenance of this pathogen of concern for public health and animal health. Indeed, it has been suggested that since the seasonal activities of A. inornatum and other Amblyomma species overlap in South Texas, co-feeding could explain the rate of pathogen infection in this tick species [7]. In addition, a high seroprevalence of canine ehrlichiosis has been reported in South Texas, likely owing to the inclusion of E. ewingii in the diagnostic tests [51]. Hence, further studies would be useful to know which tick species and Ehrlichia species are circulating in this area to understand the risk of tick infestation.

Prior studies of ticks on birds in Texas include work during spring migration at a high passage coastal stopover site along the Gulf of Mexico; this work showed 3.6% of 3844 birds harbored ticks, including seven different Amblyomma species and a single Ixodes species [4]. In East Texas, only 1.9% of 211 birds harbored ticks, exclusively Ixodes dentatus and I. scapularis [52]. More recent work in the northern Gulf of Mexico reported a lower tick prevalence (< 1%) in 17,550 birds sampled in Louisiana and Alabama, with Amblyomma being the most abundant tick genera and A. longirostre the most abundant species [5]. A much higher tick infestation prevalence of birds was detected one state north in Oklahoma, with 24.2% of 459 birds harboring ticks of three species; A. americanum, A. maculatum, and Haemaphysalis leporispalustris [53]. In the current study, the tick infestation prevalence in birds was not determined, but the richness of species present (six tick species) among the relatively small sample size of ticks removed from birds (19 ticks) suggests a high tick biodiversity.

Rickettsia amblyommatis was detected in 88.9% of A. inornatum ticks, collected mostly from two Long-billed Thrashers, a non-migratory passerine of dry and brushy landscapes of southeast Texas and northeastern Mexico [54]. Our data, combined with others, confirms this tick and pathogen are established in Texas [4, 7, 16, 35, 41, 55]. Rickettsia amblyommatis is a bacterium belonging to the spotted fever group, widely recorded in several tick species from the Neotropical region [56], and mainly detected in A. americanum across the USA [36]. Besides A. inornatum, we also found R. amblyommatis in one A. longirostre nymph collected from an Acadian Flycatcher, a long-distance migratory species. It is therefore not surprising that the role of migratory birds carrying ticks, such as A. longirostre, has been suggested as one of the main routes of dispersal of this bacterium [56, 57]. Studies from South and Central America have also reported this tick–bird association and the detection of R. amblyommatis, discussing the role they might play on the expansion of rickettsial pathogens [39, 58]. As recently reviewed [59], the presence of R. amblyommatis may prevent ticks from acquiring other Rickettsia species [60], an interaction that has caused changes in the epidemiology of SFGR in the USA [61]. Several studies have also shown that when R. rickettsii is co-infected with R. amblyommatis, the latter can lower the severity of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) symptoms [59]. However, R. amblyommatis single-infection can provoke a vascular inflammation and mild febrile illness in mammals [62,63,64,65] with RMSF-like symptoms, although its potential pathogenicity in humans is still unknown.

The detection of putative Rickettsia endosymbionts in four ticks warrants further investigation, as nonpathogenic microorganisms may impact their tick host or alter the transmission of tick-borne pathogens [66]. The interactions of pathogenic species with rickettsial endosymbionts may help explain why rickettsioses are still emerging worldwide [17]. Interestingly, one of the Rickettsia endosymbionts was found in an I. keiransi nymph collected from a Red-shouldered Hawk. This tick species was previously described as a North American population of Ixodes affinis, but it has been recently considered as a distinct species [67]. Its potential distribution includes the southeastern USA, nonetheless this study is the first official record of I. keiransi in Texas. The specimen was morphologically similar to the description of I. affinis nymphs [68]; however, some characteristics were not clearly observed; i.e., the auriculae were not pronounced and the triangular internal spur was not broadly distinguished. Therefore, it was analyzed molecularly to confirm tick identity following the protocol recently described [69]. According to the latest studies [67], I. affinis s.s. is not found in the USA, thus those descriptions attributed to I. affinis could indeed correspond to I. keiransi, although further comparative studies are needed to describe formally the morphology of its immature stages. Given the Red-shouldered Hawk on which this Rickettsial endosymbiont-infected tick was found is likely to be a non-migratory permanent resident of South Texas, this tick and its bacterial community are probably locally established.

Conclusions

Our findings provide key information on tick and pathogen species that interact with humans and native avian wildlife, and highlights the human risk of tick and pathogen encounters during occupational outdoor activities, such as bird banding. Migratory birds are one of the main routes of tick dispersal, transporting tick species and pathogens to new locations. Our study also underscores the importance of clarifying the roles of the relatively neglected human-biting A. tenellum and bird-imported ticks A. inornatum and A. longirostre in the transmission of emerging and neglected tick-borne diseases to establish the necessary prevention measures to avoid tick bites.

Availability of data and materials

The data supporting this study is provided within the article, including the accession numbers of representative sequences submitted in the GenBank database.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Meredith Anderson, Lisa Auckland, Isabel McAllister, and Francisco Ferreira for technical assistance.

Funding

This study was funded by the Schubot Center for Avian Health of Texas A&M University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Julia Gonzalez & Sarah A. Hamer

  2. Schubot Center for Avian Health, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Julia Gonzalez & Sarah A. Hamer

  3. Master Bird Bander, Lower Rio Grande Valley, TX, USA

    Mark Conway

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Contributions

S.H. designed the study. M.C. and S.H. participated in the acquisition of samples. J.G. and S.H. analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Julia Gonzalez or Sarah A. Hamer.

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Avian field sampling was approved by USGS Bird Banding Laboratory and the Texas A&M University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee under protocols IACUC 2021-0124 D CA and IACUC 2024-0072 CA.

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Gonzalez, J., Conway, M. & Hamer, S.A. Bird–tick and human–tick encounters in the Rio Grande Valley (Texas, USA): ecological associations and pathogen detections. Parasites Vectors 18, 95 (2025). https://doiorg.publicaciones.saludcastillayleon.es/10.1186/s13071-025-06725-y

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Parasites & Vectors

ISSN: 1756-3305

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