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The ability to determine what host a larval life stage tick fed on can help predict infection prevalence, emergence, and spread of certain tick-borne pathogens and the risks posed to public health. Here, we use a newly developed genomic target-based technique to detect the source of larval bloodmeals by sampling questing nymphs from Block Island, RI, a small island with a depauperate mammalian community. We used previously designed specific assays to target all known hosts on this island and analyzed ticks for four human pathogenic tick-borne pathogens. We determined the highest proportion of larvae fed on avian species (42.34%), white-footed mice (36.94%), and white-tailed deer (20.72%) and occasionally fed on feral cats, rats, and voles, which are in low abundance on Block Island. Additionally, larvae that had fed on white-footed mice were significantly more likely to be infected with\n              <jats:italic>Borrelia burgdorferi<\/jats:italic>\n              and\n              <jats:italic>Babesia microti,<\/jats:italic>\n              while larvae that had fed on white-footed mice or white-tailed deer were significantly more likely to be infected with, respectively, mouse- and deer-associated genotypes of\n              <jats:italic>Anaplasma phagocytophilum<\/jats:italic>\n              . The ability to detect a nymph\u2019s larval host allows for a better understanding of tick feeding behavior, host distribution, pathogen prevalence, and zoonotic risks to humans, which can contribute to better tick management strategies.\n            <\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>IMPORTANCE<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>\n              Tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, babesiosis, and anaplasmosis, pose significant public health burdens. Tick bloodmeal analysis provides a noninvasive sampling method to evaluate tick-host associations and combined with a zoonotic pathogen assay, can generate crucial insights into the epidemiology and transmission of tick-borne diseases by identifying potential key maintenance hosts. We investigated the bloodmeals of questing\n              <jats:italic>Ixodes scapularis<\/jats:italic>\n              nymphs. We found that avian hosts, white-footed mice, and white-tailed deer fed the majority of larval ticks and differentially contributed to the prevalence of multiple tick-borne pathogens and pathogen genotypes in a low biodiversity island setting. Unraveling the intricate network of host-vector-pathogen interactions will contribute to improving wildlife management and conservation efforts, to developing targeted surveillance, and vector and host control efforts, ultimately reducing the incidence of tick-borne diseases and improving public health.\n            <\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/aem.00667-24","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,29]],"date-time":"2024-08-29T13:01:30Z","timestamp":1724936490000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Host-pathogen associations inferred from bloodmeal analyses of\n            <i>Ixodes scapularis<\/i>\n            ticks in a low biodiversity setting"],"prefix":"10.1128","volume":"90","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8084-7556","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Danielle M.","family":"Tufts","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA"},{"name":"Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa"},{"name":"Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5145-9047","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Heidi K.","family":"Goethert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, Grafton, Massachusetts, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8809-3050","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria A.","family":"Diuk-Wasser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"235","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1155\/2009\/593232"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2217\/fmb.15.15"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph15030478"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1099\/jmm.0.001206"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-016-1529-y"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ttbdis.2019.101359"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_8_2","first-page":"16","article-title":"Ixodes scapularis: vector to an increasing diversity of human pathogens in the upper Midwest","volume":"119","author":"Wolf MJ","year":"2020","unstructured":"Wolf MJ, Watkins HR, Schwan WR. 2020. 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