2801 Sharon Turnpike; P.O. Box ABMillbrook NY 12545-0129, USA
Dr. Ostfeld's research focuses on the interactions among organisms that influence: the risk of human exposure to vector-borne diseases; and the dynamics of terrestrial communities (e.g., tree regeneration, rodent and songbird populations, gypsy moths).
The Tick Project is testing whether environmental interventions can prevent tick-borne diseases in our communities. The need for prevention is stronger than ever, with expanding tick populations and more than 300,000 Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year.
Biodiversity can protect human health by reducing human exposure to diseases transmitted from wildlife. Environmental changes, such as habitat fragmentation, can increase disease risk by reducing both predators and biodiversity.
In forests dominated by mast-producing trees,consumers are confronted with the sporadic production of abundant resources. Animals, such as the white-footed mouse and eastern chipmunk, rely on these pulsed resources.
Different species of tick hosts tend to have different probabilities of transmitting an infection to a feeding tick. In eastern and central North America, the host most likely to transmit an infection to a feeding tick is the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), which infects between 40% and 90% of feeding larvae.
In areas where Lyme disease is endemic, it is desirable to control populations of native ticks, which transmit several pathogens to humans causing Lyme and other diseases.
Lyme and other tick-borne diseases have impacted the lives of so many in the Hudson Valley, New York. Learn the latest news on prevention at a special panel discussion.
Tiny ticks are a big problem. Anyone taking a walk in the woods is advised to do a tick check. Ticks infect more than 325,000 people with Lyme disease each year, and this number continues to rise.
Two New York state senators released a report last week aimed at combating the spread of Lyme and tick-borne diseases. Disease ecologist Rick Ostfeld commends the report, but offers suggestions for improving it.
Cary researchers are warning of a possible surge in tick-borne diseases in the United States this summer. A warming climate increases the likelihood that ticks will spread across the country - and that raises concerns of a public health crisis.
In this video, Rick Ostfeld explains the ecology of Lyme disease. Discover how acorns and white-footed mice amplify disease risk, why predators like foxes make good neighbors, and the impact climate change and forest fragmentation have on the spread of tick-borne disease.
According to the Center for Disease Control, there are over 300,000 new cases of Lyme Disease each year in the United States. Is there a way to control its spread?
Can you guess what animal found throughout the United States is turning out to be an unsung hero helping to prevent the spread of Lyme Disease? A hint it's a marsupial, just like a kangaroo.
The summer following a good mouse year, which is two summers following a good acorn year, we have found are the riskiest years for human exposure to Lyme.
To find out how to steer clear of Lyme disease and learn when tick season is at its peak this year, the National Science Foundation spoke with NSF-funded disease ecologist Rick Ostfeld.
As part of the PBS series, Global Health Frontiers, Cary's Rick Ostfeld and other wildlife sleuths work to unravel complex factors driving the explosive spread of Lyme disease in a yard-to-yard battle to try and turn the tide.
In New York's Hudson Valley, it's hard to go outside without stepping on an acorn. Oaks have 'boom and bust' acorn production cycles. In lean years, trees produce a handful of nuts. In boom years, acorns seem to rain down from the sky.
NYS Senator Sue Serino was joined by Cary's Rick Ostfeld to announce that $600,000 has been secured to combat Lyme Disease in the State–$90,000 of which will go to the Cary Institute for Lyme Disease research.
There are many reasons to protect Earth's biodiversity. One of the more underrated is that disease incidence is lower when ecosystems support a variety of plants and animals.
Richard Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute and Dr. Richard Horowitz, author and noted Lyme disease expert answer questions and discuss information you need to know about Lyme disease.
Panelists for a NYS Senate Taskforce on Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases forum included Cary's Rick Ostfeld who has been researching the ecology of tick-borne disease for more than 20 years.
Explore the ecology of Lyme disease with Rick Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute. For more than twenty years, Ostfeld and his research team have been investigating how environmental conditions influence the spread of tick-borne illness.
According to Rick Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, if we want to get a leg up on tick-borne illness we need to become vigilant earlier in the season.
In the northeastern US, warmer spring temperatures are leading to shifts in the emergence of the blacklegged ticks that carry Lyme disease and other tick-borne pathogens.
Cary disease ecologist Rick Ostfeld provides new information on the various tick-borne diseases that affect the Hudson Valley in New York State.
With warmer temperatures comes more ticks and more of the illnesses they carry. CNN reports on Lyme and interviews Cary's Rick Ostfeld about his research on ticks and tick-borne illnesses.
Tick studies at Cary.
Dr. Ostfeld presents a compelling case on the importance of ecology in controlling Lyme disease.
Understanding how infectious diseases respond to climate change would help public health officials and environmental managers predict and mitigate disease impacts.
The number of tick-borne illnesses reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the rise. Lyme disease leads the pack, with some 35,000 cases reported annually.
It’s time to add another tongue-tying illness to the list of maladies carried by ticks. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in the U. S., with more than 30,000 people infected annually.
American Museum of Natural History documentary on Lyme disease featuring research conducted at the Cary Institute by Dr. Richard Ostfeld and his team.
It's commonly believed that Lyme disease risk is tied to the presence of deer ticks and white-tailed deer. But this simply isn't correct.
The next time you see a opossum playing dead on the road, try your best to avoid hitting it. Because it turns out that opossums are allies in the fight against Lyme disease.
For many years, oaks in the Northeast were prolific acorn producers. The 2010 crop was record-breaking—many will recall getting hit with acorn rain or slipping on acorns underfoot. Last fall, however, acorns were scarce.
Research has found that when humans modify the environment, fragmenting habitat and reducing species diversity, we are more likely to contract diseases normally confined to wildlife.
Using Lyme disease and West Nile virus as models, disease ecologist Dr. Richard Ostfeld describes how diverse animal populations minimize our exposure to emerging infectious diseases.
Oxford University Press, 2011
Princeton University Press, 2008
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies | Millbrook, New York 12545 | Tel (845) 677-5343
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