Naturally Speaking: Dr. Holly Gaff - The Challenging and Complex Ecology of Ticks

The Virginia Living Museum’s Naturally Speaking Lecture Series is an in-person interactive discussion that brings fascinating details about our local, regional and global ecosystems directly to you!

Tick-borne diseases are on the rise worldwide, and there is a lot of interest to reduce the burden of these diseases. Ticks and tick-borne pathogens are not well studied partly owing to their challenging biology. The dynamics of tick-borne pathogens includes multi-year systems of weather, habitat, and environmental factors plus the availability of hosts required for each life stage. The Old Dominion University Tick Research Team has been tracking tick populations and their related pathogens through an active surveillance project since 2009. The findings of this long-term surveillance project will be discussed in light of the complex ecology of the region and the resulting tick populations.

You may also like the following events from The Virginia Living Museum:

• This Wednesday, 7th May, 09:30 am, Early Learners: Dino-Mite Discovery in Newport News
• This Saturday, 10th May, 05:00 pm, Star Gazing and Laser Night in Newport News
• This month, 23rd May, 05:30 pm, Member Preview: Dinosaur Quest in Newport News