THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES ON INVASIVE PLANTS AND ON IXODES SCAPULARIS (BLACK- LEGGED TICKS) POPULATION

Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between invasive shrub abundance and tick populations, which may be related to microclimate conditions such as soil moisture and humidity. To investigate this relationship, we visited the area of interest twelve times to measure tick abundance, microclimate, and vegetation regrowth of four plots one year after each were treated with different invasive management techniques to evaluate which technique was the most effective and time efficient.