SENR Seminar Series welcomes PhD Student Presentations

The School of Environment and Natural Resources Seminar Series welcomes PhD student Ningzhu Bai, PhD student, who will present, "Understanding the Dynamics of Tick-Bird-Pathogen Interactions in Ohio Songbirds" on March 18 starting in room 103 Kottman Hall or via Zoom. 

Abstract:  Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) pose significant public health challenges, impacting humans, domestic animals, and wildlife globally. Songbirds play a crucial role in the transmission dynamics of these diseases by serving as hosts for various tick species and their associated pathogens. Understanding both individual- and population-level factors that contribute to the production of blood-fed and infected ticks is essential for predicting tick range expansion and assessing TBD risk factors.

In this seminar, I will present my dissertation research, which integrates field surveys and mathematical modeling to examine the role of songbirds in the ecology of tick-borne diseases in Ohio. This study aims to: (1) identify host intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing tick infestations on songbirds, (2) characterize tick infestation patterns on avian hosts, (3) assess the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in songbird populations, and (4) evaluate the contributions of songbirds to TBD transmission using epidemiological models.