Most undergraduate anthropology majors will not pursue postgraduate careers in the discipline, so the greatest value of anthropological training is in providing a holistic sense of cultural relativity and appreciation for human diversity. However, translating anthropology's value to other career paths is frequently hindered by students’ limited exposure to theory and methods and further complicated by the discipline's emphasis on individualistic fieldwork models and research outcomes. We argue these obstacles can be overcome by engaging students in mixed‐methods collaborative groups that integrate students and faculty in local research, teaching, and outreach. This socializes undergraduates to view anthropology as naturally collaborative and applicable beyond careers in research. In this article, we outline a program that fuses experimental and field approaches to train students in qualitative and quantitative methods and critical thinking. We then detail implementation of this pedagogical model as a generalizable template that trains students for postgraduate careers outside anthropology.

Lyme disease is the most important vector-borne disease in the United States and is increasing in incidence and geographic range. In the Pacific west, the western black-legged tick, Ixodes pacificus Cooley and Kohls, 1943 is an important vector of the causative agent of Lyme disease, the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Ixodes pacificus life cycle is expected to be more than a year long, and all three stages (larva, nymph, and adult) overlap in spring. The optimal habitat consists of forest cover, cooler temperatures, and annual precipitation in the range of 200–500 mm. Therefore, the coastal areas of California, Oregon, and Washington are well suited for these ticks. Immature stages commonly parasitize Western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) and gray squirrels (Sciurus griseus), while adults often feed on deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and black-tailed deer (Odocoileus h. columbianus). Ixodes pacificus carry several pathogens of human significance, such as Borrelia burgdorferi, Bartonella, and Rickettsiales. These pathogens are maintained in the environment by many hosts, including small mammals, birds, livestock, and domestic animals. Although a great deal of work has been carried out on Ixodes ticks and the pathogens they transmit, understanding I. pacificus ecology outside California still lags. Additionally, the dynamic vector–host–pathogen system means that new factors will continue to arise and shift the epidemiological patterns within specific areas. Here, we review the ecology of I. pacificus and the pathogens this tick is known to carry to identify gaps in our knowledge.

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