Welcome to the American Ornithological Society 2018 Annual Conference. We are pleased to have you join us at the lovely Hilton El Conquistador Resort in Tucson, AZ.
Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme borreliosis, has a well-established transmission cycle involving Ixodes tick vectors and mammalian hosts. Research indicates that birds also carry B. burgdorferi, but their role in the transmission cycle, if any, is poorly understood. Northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin are contemporary hots spot for Lyme borreliosis in humans, with a corresponding high incidence of infection in local rodent populations. This study sought to determine if there is a corresponding high incidence of infection in local bird populations. Data collected in 2016 indicated a prevalence of nearly 50\% in all birds sampled. Although we expected ground-dwelling species to experience greater exposure to ticks and therefore higher incidence of bacterial infection, the prevalence did not differ significantly between canopy and ground-dwelling species. Additional samples were collected in 2017 to determine if the same high prevalence continued with similar patterns, if infected birds from 2016 recaptured in 2017 still carried the bacterium, and if we could identify specific B. burgdorferi strains in birds from both years. These results allow us to begin to compare bacterial populations in birds versus mammals to give us a better picture of where birds fit in the transmission cycles of Lyme borreliosis. We can also begin to look for trends in prevalence.