Connecticut State The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

Megan A. Linske

.

Department of Entomology
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
123 Huntington Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Voice: (203)-974-8490 Fax: (203)-974-8502
E-mail: Megan.Linske@ct.gov

Expertise:
Megan’s areas of research include, but are not limited to monitoring tick abundances, tick testing for human pathogens, climate impacts on established and emerging tick populations, assessing temperature-dependent physiological responses in overwintering ticks, and implementing and assessing the efficacy of available tick control strategies while also developing and applying novel, innovative control strategies for ticks and tick-borne diseases. Her thorough working knowledge of such factors can aid in the prediction of outbreaks of ticks and tick-borne diseases as well as aid in the efficiency of current and future tick control strategies.

 

Education:

Ph.D. Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut, 2017

M.S. Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut, 2014

B.S. Environmental Science, Nazareth College, 2012

 

Station Career:

Agricultural Assistant Scientist II: 2022-Present
Agricultural Post-Doctoral Research Scientist: 2017-2022
Agricultural Research Technician I: 2015-2017
Seasonal Research Assistant: 2012-2015

 

Research:
Megan completed her Ph.D. in December of 2017 in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Connecticut. Both her Master’s thesis and Ph.D. dissertation were focused on tick ecology, specifically the roles of hosts and habitat on the density and distribution of Ixodes scapularis and their associated pathogens. She continued her work as a postdoctoral research scientist at The Connecticut Agricultural Research Station. Her work has provided a compelling link between abiotic and biotic ecological factors that influence established and emerging tick species in the Northeast. She has studied and reported on the influence of host diversity and abundance, the impacts of habitat heterogeneity and residential development, and climate variability and overwintering survival on ticks and their associated pathogens. Additionally, she has conducted studies on the effects of individual and combined treatments for tick reduction on residential properties through integrated tick management strategies including rodent-targeted vaccines and host-targeted systemic acaricides.

 

Selected publications are available from the author, Megan.Linske@ct.gov, online or in books.

 

Recent Publications:

  • Linske, M. A., Williams, S. C., Stafford, K. C., III, and Li, A. (2021). Integrated tick management in Guilford, CT: Fipronil-based rodent-targeted bait box deployment configuration and Peromyscus leucopus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) abundance drive reduction in tick burdens. Journal of Medical Entomology, 59(2), 591-597. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjab200
  • Williams, S. C., Stafford, K. C., III, Linske, M. A., Brackney, D. E., LaBonte, A. M., Stuber, H. R., and Cozens, D. W. (2021). Effective control of the motile stages of Amblyomma americanum and reduced Ehrlichia spp. prevalence in adults via permethrin treatment of white-tailed deer in coastal Connecticut, USA. Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases, 12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101675
  • Williams, S. C., Linske, M. A., and Stafford, K. C., III. (2020). Humane use of cardiac puncture for non-terminal phlebotomy of wild-caught and released Peromyscus spp. Animals, 10(5), 826. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10050826
  • Linske, M. A., Williams, S. C., Stafford, K. C., III, Lubelczyk, C. B., Henderson, E. F. Welch, M., and Teel, P. D. (2020). Determining effects of winter weather conditions on adult Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) survival in Connecticut and Maine, USA. Insects, 11(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11010013.
  • Stafford III, K. C., Williams, S. C., van Oosterwijk, J. G., Linske, M. A., Zatechka, S., Richer, L. M., Molaei, G., Przybyszewski, C., and Wikel, S. K. (2020). Field evaluation of a novel oral reservoir-targeted vaccine against Borrelia burgdorferi utilizing an inactivated whole-cell bacterial antigen expression vehicle. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 80, 257-268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-019-00458-1.
  • Williams, S. C., van Oosterwijk, J. G., Linske, M. A., Zatechka, S., Richer, L. M., Przybyszewski, C., Wikel, S. K. and Stafford, K. C., III. (2020). Administration of an orally delivered substrate targeting a mammalian zoonotic pathogen reservoir population: Novel application and biomarker analysis. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 20, 603-612. https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2019.2612. 
  • Linske, M. A., Stafford, K. C., III, Williams, S. C., Lubelczyk, C. B., Welch, M., and Henderson, E. F. (2019). Impacts of deciduous leaf litter and snow presence on nymphal Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) overwintering survival in coastal New England, USA. Insects, 10(8), 227. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10080227.
  • Little, E. A. H., Williams, S. C., Stafford, K. C., III, Linske, M. A., and Molaei, G. (2019). Evaluating the effectiveness of an integrated tick management approach on multiple pathogen infection in Ixodes scapularis questing nymphs and larvae parasitizing white-footed mice. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 80, 127-136.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-019-00452-7.
  • Williams, S. C., Little, E. A. H., Stafford, K. C., III, Molaei, G., and Linske, M. A. (2018). Integrated control of juvenile Ixodes scapularis parasitizing Peromyscus leucopus in residential southwestern Connecticut. Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases, 9, 1310-1316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.05.014. 
  • Linske, M. A., Williams, S. C., Ward, J. S., and Stafford, K. C., III. (2018). Indirect effects of Japanese barberry infestations on white-footed mouse exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi. Environmental Entomology, 47, 795-802. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvy079. 
  • Linske, M. A., Williams, S. C., Stafford, K. C., III, and Ortega, I. M. (2018). Ixodes scapularis reservoir host diversity and abundance impacts on dilution of Borrelia burgdorferi in residential and woodland habitats in Connecticut, USA. Journal of Medical Entomology, 55, 681-690. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjx237.
  • Williams, S. C., Stafford, K. C., III, Molaei, G., and Linske, M. A. (2018). Integrated control of nymphal Ixodes scapularis: Effectiveness of white-tailed deer reduction, the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, and fipronil-based rodent bait boxes. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 18, 55-64. https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2017.2146.
  • Ward, J. S., Williams, S. C., and Linske, M. A. (2017). Influence of invasive shrubs and deer browsing on regeneration in temperate deciduous forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 48, 58-67. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2017-0208.
  • Williams, S. C., Linske, M. A., and Ward, J. S. (2017). Long-term effects of Berberis thunbergii management on Ixodes scapularis abundance and Borrelia burgdorferi prevalence in Connecticut, USA. Environmental Entomology, 46, 1329-1338. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvx146.
  • Ward, J. S., Williams, S. C., and Linske, M. A. (2017). Independent effects of invasive shrubs and deer herbivory on plant community dynamics. Forests, 8, 1-18. http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/8/1/2. 
  • Floyd, M. A. (2014). Trophic Cascade Effects of Deer Overabundance on Connecticut's Native Vegetation and Small Mammal Populations. University of Connecticut, Master’s Thesis. http://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1711&context=gs_theses.