Tick Research at Trolley Marsh Preserve

This spring, scientists from the University of Maine installed a weather station at Trolley Marsh Preserve in Warren as part of their ongoing research on tick-borne diseases. Weather plays an important role in a tick's life cycle and this data helps researchers better understand them and the illnesses they carry.

Researchers make periodic visits to Trolley Marsh Preserve to collect ticks, check on the station, and set up mosquito traps. Land trust staff spent a morning with researchers in July, following the students as they worked and asking about what they have observed at the preserve so far.

Students performed what is known as "tick dragging," where a sheet of white cloth is dragged on the ground behind them. Researchers will then examine the sheet for ticks, pick them off, and deposit them into vials of alcohol to then transport back to their labs. At the lab, answers about what kind of diseases these ticks carry can be unlocked. The group of researchers used GPS tools to divide sections of the preserve into "transects" which allow them to keep track of the same areas, and the ticks they find there, over time.

The weather station will remain installed at Trolley Marsh indefinitely. This research has never been more important, as studies have shown that Midcoast Maine has a significantly high rate of tick-borne diseases.

Land trust staff learned so much from these passionate and knowledgeable students during their summer visit to Trolley Marsh. We look forward to supporting their ongoing research efforts.

A University of Maine researcher with a dog tick in a vial of alcohol