“…Johnson et al, 2013b ; Luis et al, 2018 ; Strauss et al, 2018 ; Thieltges et al, 2008 ), other mechanisms have also been proposed in theory and described in at least some disease systems (Johnson & Thieltges, 2010 ; Keesing et al, 2006 ). For example, the presence of alternative hosts for vectors like ticks and mosquitoes can deflect vector meals away from high‐quality hosts, and also affect the abundance of vectors (Keesing et al, 2006 ), mechanisms that underlie zooprophylaxis (Ault, 1994 ; Kemibala et al, 2020 ; Saul, 2003 ). In the Lyme disease system, ticks that feed on some species are less likely to feed successfully (Figure 4 ) and also less likely to survive over the winter (Brunner et al, 2011 ; Keesing et al, 2009 ) (Figure 2e ).…”