IxPopDyMod: an R package to write, run, and analyze tick population and infection dynamics models

Abstract

Given the increasing prevalence of tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, modeling the population and infection dynamics of tick vectors is an important public health tool. These models have applications for testing the effects of control methods or climate change on tick populations. There is an established history of tick population models, but code for them is rarely shared, especially not in a convenient format for others to modify and use. We present an R package, called , intended to function as a flexible and consistent framework for reproducible Ixodidae (hard-bodied ticks) population dynamics models. Here we focus on two key parts of the package: a function to create valid model configurations and a function to run a configured model and return the daily population over time. We provide three examples in appendices: one reproducing an existing Ixodes scapularis population model, one providing a novel Dermacentor albipictus model, and one showing Borrelia burgdorferi infection in ticks. Together these examples show the flexibility of the package to model scenarios of interest to tick researches. Graphical Abstract

GIS-ODE: linking dynamic population models with GIS to predict pathogen vector abundance across a country under climate change scenarios

“…Stokowski & Allen [13] present a novel approach of modelling tick population and infection dynamics that researchers can edit and adapt. It allows users to select transition probabilities for ticks to move between life stages as a next-generation matrix model, and also allows users to choose a duration over which these transitions can occur.…”