We examined the relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors on the ability of adult Dermacentor variabilis ticks to attach and engorge with blood across 10 populations of free-ranging raccoons (Procyon lotor). We developed a priori models that represented explicit hypotheses based on the literature and tested the ability of these models to explain non-replete and replete (fully engorged with blood) tick infestation using generalized linear models and Akaike's Information Criterion. Abiotic models that included month and site of collection clearly provided a better fit for non-replete tick abundance data, while biotic models with host age and sex covariates best fit the replete tick data. Abiotic models of non-replete abundance were superior to biotic models because of large seasonal and site fluctuations in non-replete abundance that masked differences due to host characteristics. Conversely, best-fitting models of replete tick abundance included only age and sex and suggest that once a tick has reached a host, host-parasite interactions are the primary determinant of engorgement by female ticks. Host population structure may have a large influence on potential cohort size of ticks by reducing or increasing the total number and proportion that can become engorged and moult or lay eggs.

Baylisascaris procyonis is a common parasitic nematode of the raccoon Procyon lotor. In intermediate or accidental hosts, including humans, B. procyonis can cause severe disease and mortality, and the parasite is increasingly viewed as an important wildlife conservation and public health concern. The prevalence of B. procyonis was assessed over a 4-year period in a population of raccoons in a forested region of lower New York. Prevalence ranged from 0% (undetected) to 21%, which was relatively low compared to values reported in other studies from the north-east. During year three of the study, a subset of the raccoon population was experimentally manipulated through altered resource distribution to enhance the contact of individuals. Within the manipulated subpopulation, prevalence of B. procyonis increased to 54% which was significantly greater than prevalence in the same subpopulation before perturbation or than prevalence among raccoons that were not subject to increased intraspecific contact. These observations suggest that altered resource distributions that directly influence raccoon behaviour may indirectly play a role in the ecology of B. procyonis.