Howard Ginsberg, Ph.D.
Biography
Howard Ginsberg is a Research Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. He is USGS Field Station Leader and Professor in Residence at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Ginsberg received his Ph.D. in entomology from Cornell University in 1979. His research explores transmission dynamics and factors that influence human exposure to vector-borne zoonotic pathogens, so as to develop efficient approaches to surveillance and management. Dr. Ginsberg received the Director’s Award for Natural Resource Research, 1999, from the U.S. National Park Service.
Science and Products
Bees of the Northeastern U.S.
Declines of pollinators have engendered worldwide concern, but trends in the faunas of most insect pollinators, including bees, remain uncertain. We are studying the bee fauna of southern Rhode Island to provide baseline information about the current fauna, and information about bee-flower interactions.
Environmental Management of Vector-borne Diseases
Effective management programs for vector-borne pathogens, such as West Nile Virus and the Lyme disease spirochete, are necessary to protect public health. However, some vector control methods, such as landscape manipulations and pesticide applications, can also adversely affect nontarget species and environmentally sensitive natural systems. Efficient targeting and integration of vector...
Vector-borne Disease Research
Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in North America, with about 300,000 cases per year in the U.S. We are studying transmission of the spirochete that causes this disease among wild animals and the blacklegged tick vectors, to determine why Lyme disease is common in the northeast and northern Midwest but rare in the south, even though blacklegged ticks are present in all...
Biological control of Aedes mosquito larvae with carnivorous aquatic plant, Utricularia macrorhiza
BackgroundBiological controls with predators of larval mosquito vectors have historically focused almost exclusively on insectivorous animals, with few studies examining predatory plants as potential larvacidal agents. In this study, we experimentally evaluate a generalist plant predator of North America, Utricularia macrorhiza, the common...
Couret, Jannelle; Notarangelo, Marco; Veera, Sarashwathi; LeClaire-Conway, Noah; Ginsberg, Howard S.; LeBrun, Roger A. Prioritizing water security in the management of vector borne diseases: Lessons from Oaxaca, Mexico
Changes in human water use, along with temperature and rainfall patterns, are facilitating habitat spread and distribution of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, the primary vectors for the transmission of Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika viruses in the Americas. Artificial containers and wetspots provide major sources of mosquito larval...
Akanda, Ali S; Johnson, Kristine D.; Ginsberg, Howard S.; Couret, Janelle Local abundance of Ixodes scapularis in forests: Effects of environmental moisture, vegetation characteristics, and host abundance
Ixodes scapularis is the primary vector of Lyme disease spirochetes in eastern and central North America, and local densities of this tick can affect human disease risk. We sampled larvae and nymphs from sites in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, USA, using flag/drag devices and by collecting ticks from hosts, and measured environmental variables...
Ginsberg, Howard S.; Rulison, Eric L.; Miller, Jasmine L.; Pang, Genevieve; Arsnoe, Isis M.; Hickling, Graham J.; Ogden, Nicholas H.; LeBrun, Roger A.; Tsao, Jean I. The bee fauna of coastal Napatree Point and two inland sites in southern Rhode Island
We surveyed the bee fauna at Napatree Point, a coastal barrier beach in southwestern Rhode Island, using bee-bowl and netting samples, and compared results to bee-bowl samples at 2 inland sites. We collected a total of 53 species and morphospecies at Napatree Point, including 5 likely Rhode Island state records and several coastal dune and sand-...
Rothwell, Aya; Ginsberg, Howard S. Nonlinearities in transmission dynamics and efficient management of vector-borne pathogens
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an approach to minimizing economic and environmental harm caused by pests, and Integrated Vector Management (IVM) uses similar methods to minimize pathogen transmission by vectors. The risk of acquiring a vector-borne infection is often quantified using the density of infected vectors. The relationship between...
Ginsberg, Howard S.; Couret, Jannelle Effect of corolla slitting and nectar robbery by the Eastern Carpenter Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on fruit quality of Vaccinium corymbosum, L.; (Ericales: Ericaceae).
Eastern carpenter bees, Xylocopa virginica (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), are among the most abundant native bee visitors to highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L., flowers in the northeastern United States, and they sometimes display corolla-slitting behavior to rob nectar. We studied foraging behavior of X. virginica...
Tucker, Sara K; Ginsberg, Howard S.; Alm, Steven R. Eastern Carpenter Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Nest structure, nest cell provisions, and trap nest acceptance in Rhode Island
Analysis of pollen provisions in Xylocopa virginica (L.) nests in southern Rhode Island showed that this species produced pollen loaves from 21 different genera of plants in 2016, 19 in 2017, and 39 in 2018. Antirrhinium majus L. (garden snapdragon) pollen was the most common type collected in all three years (21.4%). Overall,...
Tucker, Sara K; Ginsberg, Howard S.; Alm, Steven R. Evidence for geographic variation in life-cycle processes affecting phenology of the Lyme disease vector Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in the United States
The seasonal activity pattern of immature Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae) varies geographically in the United States, which may affect the efficiency of transmission cycles of pathogens transmitted by this species. To study the factors that determine seasonality, a multiyear study at seven sites across the geographic range of...
Ogden, Nicholas H.; Pang, Genevieve; Ginsberg, Howard S.; Hickling, Graham J.; Burke, Russell L.; Beati, Lorenza; Tsao, Jean I. Management of arthropod pathogen vectors in North America: Minimizing adverse effects on pollinators
Tick and mosquito management is important to public health protection. At the same time, growing concerns about declines of pollinator species raise the question of whether vector control practices might affect pollinator populations. We report the results of a task force of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) that examined...
Ginsberg, Howard S.; Bargar, Timothy A.; Hladik, Michelle L.; Lubelczyk, Charles Acquisition of Borrelia burgdorferi infection by larval Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) associated with engorgement measures
Measuring rates of acquisition of the Lyme disease pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner, by the larval stage of Ixodes scapularis Say is a useful tool for xenodiagnoses of B. burgdorferi in vertebrate hosts. In the nymphal and adult stages of I. scapularis,...
Couret, Janelle; Dyer, M.C.; Mather, T.N.; Han, S.; Tsao, J.I.; LeBrun, R.A.; Ginsberg, Howard S. Lyme disease ecology in a changing world: Consensus, uncertainty and critical gaps for improving control
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in temperate regions of North America, Europe and Asia, and the number of reported cases has increased in many regions as landscapes have been altered. Although there has been extensive work on the ecology and epidemiology of this disease in both Europe and North America, substantial uncertainty...
Kilpatrick, A. Marm; Dobson, Andrew D.M.; Levi, Taal; Salkeld, Daniel J.; Swei, Andrea; Ginsberg, Howard S.; Kjemtrup, Anne; Padgett, Kerry A.; Jensen, Per A.; Fish, Durland; Ogden, Nick H.; Diuk-Wasser, Maria A. Relationships between maternal engorgement weight and the number, size, and fat content of larval Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae)
The relationship between engorgement weight of female Ixodes scapularis Say and characteristics of offspring was studied using field-collected females fed on rabbits in the laboratory. The number of eggs laid was positively related to maternal engorgement weight in one trial, and larval size (estimated by scutal area) was positively related to...
Ginsberg, Howard S.; Lee, Chong; Volson, Barry; Dyer, Megan C.; LeBrun, Roger A.
Pesticides, Pollinators, and Pestilence: Protecting Public Health and Pollinators
Tick and mosquito control provides important public health protection, but can also affect pollinator populations. The effects are often dependent on specific local conditions, such as how close the pesticide application is to places pollinators frequent, and when they frequent them.
It’s the Heat and the Humidity, New Study Finds: Why Lyme Disease is Common in the North, Rare in the South
When it's hot and not too muggy, Lyme disease-bearing ticks hide out where people don't tread. Scientists say that's why the illness is rare in the South, and may eventually fade out along the Mason-Dixon line.