Raghavan, Ram K.Peterson, A. TownsendCobos, Marlon E.Ganta, RomanFoley, DesMunderloh, Ulrike Gertrud2020-02-072020-02-072019-01-02Raghavan RK, Peterson AT, Cobos ME, Ganta R, Foley D (2019) Current and Future Distribution of the Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae) in North America. PLoS ONE 14(1): e0209082. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209082https://hdl.handle.net/1808/29963Acarological surveys in areas outside the currently believed leading edge of the distribution of lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum), coupled with recent reports of their identification in previously uninvaded areas in the public health literature, suggest that this species is more broadly distributed in North America than currently understood. Therefore, we evaluated the potential geographic extent under present and future conditions using ecological niche modeling approach based on museum records available for this species at the Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit (WRBU). The median prediction of a best fitting model indicated that lone star ticks are currently likely to be present in broader regions across the Eastern Seaboard as well as in the Upper Midwest, where this species could be expanding its range. Further northward and westward expansion of these ticks can be expected as a result of ongoing climate change, under both low- and high-emissions scenarios.This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Article10.1371/journal.pone.0209082https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2657-3398https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2611-1767openAccess