Daisy Sankey

Daisy’s research focuses on the interactions between ticks and their host species in the UK, with a particular focus on deer.

Research has increasingly documented tick populations in urban environments, where green spaces can support their life cycle and present potential risks for human exposure to tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease. Using a combination of camera trap surveys, tick dragging surveys, and carcass inspection, Daisy's work will investigate tick abundance and host interactions across a gradient of urban green spaces in London, the roles of different deer species in driving urban tick numbers, and spatial correlations in activity patterns between hosts and humans.

This research will provide critical insights into the ecology of urban ticks and tick-borne disease risk, helping to refine urban green space management strategies that will benefit both wildlife and people.

Daisy’s research is funded through the London NERC DTP, and she is based at the Institute of Zoology and Queen Mary University of London.