"Where do I even start?" Recommendations for faculty diversifying syllabi in ecology, evolution, and the life sciences.

Diversifying curricula is of increasing interest in higher education, including in ecology and evolution and allied fields. Yet, many educators may not know where to start. Here we provide a framework for meeting standard curriculum goals while enacting anti-racist and anti-colonial syllabi that is grounded in the development of a sustainable network of educators. In addition to highlighting this professional learning process and sharing the list of resources our group has developed, we provide suggestions to help educators highlight contributions of minoritized groups, explore multiple ways of knowing, and perform critical assessments of foundational views of life and environmental science fields. We further discuss the key classroom dynamics that affect the success of such anti-racist and anti-colonial initiatives. The retention and success of minoritized students in ecology and evolution depends on whether we address injustices in our fields. Our hope is that our fellow educators will use this paper to catalyze their own efforts to diversify their courses.

Regional dynamics of tick vectors of human disease.

The expansion of tick-borne diseases challenges ecologists, epidemiologists, and public health professionals to understand the mechanisms underlying its emergence. The vast majority of tick-borne disease research emphasizes Ixodes spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi, with less known about other Ixodidae ticks that serve as vectors for an increasing number of pathogens of public health concern. Here, we review and discuss the current knowledge of tick and tick-borne pathogens in an undersurveilled region of the United States. We discuss how landscape shifts may potentially influence tick vector dynamics and expansion. We also discuss the impact of climate change on the phenology of ticks and subsequent disease transmission. Increased efforts in the Central Plains to conduct basic science will help understand the patterns of tick distribution and pathogen prevalence. It is crucial to develop intensive datasets that may be used to generate models that can aid in developing mitigation strategies.

Impact of landcover composition and density of localized deer culling sites on chronic wasting disease prevalence.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), the prion disease of the Cervidae family, has been managed in Illinois deer since it was first detected in the Fall of 2002. Management uses a state-sponsored localized focus culling (LFC) program, implemented as close as possible to previously identified CWD-infected locations (TRSs (township/range/section)). We used hunter-harvest and LFC deer from 4621 and 435 unique TRSs, respectively, over 16 years of surveillance and management (2003-2017). We divided the study area into groups of TRSs with similar landcover types (SPLT) to assess CWD hunter-harvest prevalence at LFC and non-LFC sites by landcover composition. We also evaluate the importance of the month when LFC was implemented and determine whether the density of LFC sites or the total number of deer removed by LFC predicts hunter-harvest CWD prevalence. The percentage of CWD positive samples from hunters was lower than for LFC samples (for the study area and SPLTs). The probability of CWD increased by 5.24% for all the SPLT groups combined in the study area, by 4.6% from areas without an LFC nearby, and by 1.21% for areas with a prior LFC nearby. For all the TRS in the study area, low CWD odds (<1) in hunter-harvest deer were found in three SPLTs, in two SPLTs within TRSs with non-LFC, and five in five SPLTs within TRSs with LFC. The results suggest the importance of accounting for landcover composition to implement and sustain management in habitats with a higher risk of CWD. Our findings support that hunter-harvest alone cannot control CWD and the critical need for continued LFC intervention. For the whole study area-regardless of landcover composition-LFC in January was more important in decreasing hunter-harvest CWD prevalence than when LFC was conducted in March. However, the LFC conducted in January, February, and March were equally important when evaluating the month per habitat. Furthermore, the density of LFC sites in proximity to known infected areas is a better predictor of CWD than the number of deer removed by LFC, suggesting that increasing the density of LFC sites has a greater impact on CWD. The proximity of LFC to infected areas helps control CWD. Ultimately, landowners' and hunters' collaborations with the CWD surveillance and management programs are critical to protecting the Illinois wild deer herd; this study demonstrates their ongoing and valuable contributions to protecting this natural and public resource.

The role of Ixodes scapularis, Borrelia burgdorferi and wildlife hosts in Lyme disease prevalence: A quantitative review.

Due to the ongoing expansion of Ixodes scapularis (blacklegged tick) throughout the northeastern and midwestern United States, there is need to identify the role wildlife hosts play in the establishment and maintenance of tick populations. To quantify and synthesize the patterns of I. scapularis and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and sensu lato prevalence relative to wildlife hosts, we reviewed the findings of independent studies conducted throughout the United States. We performed a comprehensive literature search from 1970 to 2017 using the ISS Web of Science Core Collection and the keywords "Ixodes scapularis," "Ixodes dammini" and "Borrelia burgdorferi." We identified 116 studies for inclusion in our meta-analysis, with 187,414 individual wildlife hosts captured and examined for I. scapularis and either the host or ticks collected subsequently tested for B. burgdorferi. We found that only 13% of the wildlife mammals sampled comprised species other than Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer) and Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mouse). To examine whether there were regional differences between the Northeast, Midwest and the Southeast U.S. in I. scapularis infestation rates on wildlife hosts, we used general linear models (glm), with post hoc pairwise comparisons. In most cases, detection of I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi was significantly higher in the Northeast than the Midwest. Using data on host-specific I. scapularis infestation prevalence, B. burgdorferi prevalence in feeding larvae, and host permissiveness, we developed an epizootiological model to determine the relative contributions of individual hosts to B. burgdorferi-infected nymphs. Our model provides additional evidence that wildlife hosts other than P. leucopus may contribute more to Lyme disease risk than commonly thought. To aid in understanding the ecology of Lyme disease, we propose that additional studies sample non-Peromyscus spp. hosts to obtain more detailed tick and pathogen infestation and infection estimates, respectively, for these less frequently sampled wildlife hosts.