The lyme map looks to me like the Northern part of the whitetail deer density map. Ixodes scapularis is a tick attacking primarily whitetail deer. Given that deer carry ticks around that doesn’t seem surprising. If there’s a Western cluster of wasting disease I would guess that it’s also about whitetail deers.
Indeed the wasting disease first exploded in the west, and then nucleated new thick clusters near the great lakes and most recently in PA/MD/VA (which has been spreading fast). The other places it is found outside the major clusters don’t seem to be expanding the way they are in those places.
https://www.cdc.gov/prions/cwd/occurrence.html looks to me like a quite different map but that’s likely the first cluster you are talking about.
The lyme map looks to me like the Northern part of the whitetail deer density map. Ixodes scapularis is a tick attacking primarily whitetail deer. Given that deer carry ticks around that doesn’t seem surprising. If there’s a Western cluster of wasting disease I would guess that it’s also about whitetail deers.
Indeed the wasting disease first exploded in the west, and then nucleated new thick clusters near the great lakes and most recently in PA/MD/VA (which has been spreading fast). The other places it is found outside the major clusters don’t seem to be expanding the way they are in those places.