Files for "Validation of a mechanistic Ixodes scapularis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) population dynamics model across multi-site, long-term tick sampling datasets"

Files for "Validation of a mechanistic Ixodes scapularis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) population dynamics model across multi-site, long-term tick sampling datasets" This repository contains data and code in support of a manuscript under review, which presents a new blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) population dynamics model. The model was validated against three tick sampling datasets: Eight years of tick sampling data in Vermont Tick, small mammal, and deer data from a two-decade study in the Hudson Valley, NY Tick sampling data collected by the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) This repository provides all necessary data and R code to reproduce the results presented in the manuscript. Repository Contents: bl_tick_model.R: IxPopDyMod code for the population dynamics model. The model object is saved as ixsc_mod within this script. inputs/: Raw input data necessary to create the environmental and host predictors for the model. predictors/: Processed predictors (temperature, VPD, day length, and host community) for the three validation datasets, formatted as required for an `IxPopDyMod` model. Predictor units are: temperature (C), vapor pressure deficit (kPa), and host density (per ha). results/: Model output results scripts/: R scripts to conduct all analyses in the manuscript, including: downloading NEON data, processing raw inputs into model predictors, running the model, and comparing model output to observed tick density data. supp_mat.Rmd: .Rmd code to generate the Supplementary Material. The Supplementary Material provides full details on how all parameters in the model were derived from the literature.