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Gooding CE, Pinard C, Gries R, Devireddy A, Gries G. Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, reduce predation risk by eavesdropping on communication signals of Formica oreas thatching ants. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231355. [PMID: 38179077 PMCID: PMC10762436 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Ticks spend most of their life inhabiting leaf litter and detritus where they are protected from sun but preyed upon by ants. Ants secrete chemical communication signals to coordinate group tasks such as nest defence. Ticks that avoid ant semiochemicals-as indicators of ant presence-would reduce predation risk by ants. We tested the hypotheses that: (i) chemical deposits from the thatching ant Formica oreas deter blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, (ii) deterrent semiochemicals originate from the ants' poison and/or Dufour's gland(s), and (iii) tick-deterrent semiochemicals serve as alarm-recruitment pheromone components in F. oreas. In two-choice olfactometer bioassays, filter paper soiled with ant chemical deposits significantly deterred female and male ticks. Poison and Dufour's gland extracts deterred ticks in combination but not alone. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analyses of gland extracts revealed formic acid as the major constituent in the poison gland and eight hydrocarbons as constituents in the Dufour's gland. Synthetic formic acid and hydrocarbons deterred ticks only when combined. F. oreas workers sprayed both formic acid and hydrocarbons when distressed. A synthetic blend of these compounds elicited alarm-recruitment responses by F. oreas in behavioural bioassays. All results combined indicate that ticks eavesdrop on the ants' communication system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire E. Gooding
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| | - Charlotte Pinard
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| | - Regine Gries
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| | - Anand Devireddy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| | - Gerhard Gries
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
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Gallagher MR, Kreye JK, Machtinger ET, Everland A, Schmidt N, Skowronski NS. Can restoration of fire-dependent ecosystems reduce ticks and tick-borne disease prevalence in the eastern United States? ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2637. [PMID: 35426200 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Over the past century, fire suppression has facilitated broad ecological changes in the composition, structure, and function of fire-dependent landscapes throughout the eastern US, which are in decline. These changes have likely contributed mechanistically to the enhancement of habitat conditions that favor pathogen-carrying tick species, key wildlife hosts of ticks, and interactions that have fostered pathogen transmission among them and to humans. While the long-running paradigm for limiting human exposure to tick-borne diseases focuses responsibility on individual prevention, the continued expansion of medically important tick populations, increased incidence of tick-borne disease in humans, and emergence of novel tick-borne diseases highlights the need for additional approaches to stem this public health challenge. Another approach that has the potential to be a cost-effective and widely applied but that remains largely overlooked is the use of prescribed fire to ecologically restore degraded landscapes that favor ticks and pathogen transmission. We examine the ecological role of fire and its effects on ticks within the eastern United States, especially examining the life cycles of forest-dwelling ticks, shifts in regional-scale fire use over the past century, and the concept that frequent fire may have helped moderate tick populations and pathogen transmission prior to the so-called fire-suppression era that has characterized the past century. We explore mechanisms of how fire and ecological restoration can reduce ticks, the potential for incorporating the mechanisms into the broader strategy for managing ticks, and the challenges, limitations, and research needs of prescribed burning for tick reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jesse K Kreye
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Erika T Machtinger
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Alexis Everland
- New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Forest Fire Service, New Lisbon, New Jersey, USA
| | - Nathaniel Schmidt
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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Kar S, Sirin D, Akyildiz G, Sakaci Z, Talay S, Camlitepe Y. Predation of ant species Lasius alienus on tick eggs: impacts of egg wax coating and tick species. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14773. [PMID: 36042343 PMCID: PMC9427936 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19300-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Several animal species, including ants, have been reported to be capable of predation on ticks. However, determining factors in most interactions between ticks and predators have not yet been fully deciphered. We hypothesized that the ant species Lasius alienus, which is unknown whether it has any impact on ticks, may exhibit predation on the eggs of tick species Hyalomma marginatum, H. excavatum, and Rhipicephalus bursa, and that the tick egg wax can be the main determinant in possible predation. In the study, 6300 tick eggs with the natural wax coating (waxed/untreated) and 2700 dewaxed tick eggs, the wax of which was removed in the laboratory, were repeatedly presented to the foraging workers belonging to three different ant nests in their natural habitat. Depending on the tick species and trials, the rate of the eggs carried by the ants ranged from 12.8 to 52.1% in the waxed and from 59.8 to 78.4% in the dewaxed eggs. It was observed that the dewaxing process both increased the interest of the ants in the eggs and resulted in a reduction in the variation associated with tick species. This study showed that L. alienus has a predatory effect on tick eggs, the severity of this impact is closely associated with the tick species, the tick-associated difference is caused by the species-specific property of the egg wax, and the variety in the protective effects of the wax seems to be an evolutional result of the biological and ecological adaptation process of the species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sirri Kar
- Department of Biology, Tekirdag Namik Kemal University, 59030, Suleymanpasa, Tekirdag, Turkey.
| | - Deniz Sirin
- Department of Biology, Tekirdag Namik Kemal University, 59030, Suleymanpasa, Tekirdag, Turkey
| | - Gurkan Akyildiz
- Department of Basic Health Sciences, Health Sciences Faculty, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Zafer Sakaci
- Department of Biology, Tekirdag Namik Kemal University, 59030, Suleymanpasa, Tekirdag, Turkey.,Department of Biology, Balikesir University, Balikesir, Turkey
| | - Sengul Talay
- Department of Biology, Tekirdag Namik Kemal University, 59030, Suleymanpasa, Tekirdag, Turkey
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Lin CH, Liu YH, Huang RN, Lin CC, Liu HKH, Wen TH. Modeling geographical invasions of Solenopsis invicta influenced by land-use patterns. Sci Rep 2022; 12:11733. [PMID: 35918367 PMCID: PMC9345980 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15399-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Research into geographical invasions of red imported fire ants (RIFAs) by anthropogenic disturbances has received much attention. However, little is known about how land-use change and the characteristics of roads with different land-use types are associated with the risk of RIFA successful invasion or remaining at the highest level of invasion (RIFA SIRH). Furthermore, it was often assumed in prior studies that the risk of RIFA SIRH had a linear association with the independent variables. However, a linear relationship may not reflect the actual circumstances. In this study, we applied linear and nonlinear approaches to assess how land-use types, distance from the nearest road, different land-use types, and spatial factors affect the risk of RIFA SIRH. The results showed that agricultural land, land for transportation usage, and areas that had undergone land-use change from 2014 to 2017 had greater odds of RIFA invasion than natural land cover. We also identified land for transportation usage and the area of land-use change from 2014 to 2017, had more than 60% of RIFA SIRH within 350 m and 150 m from the nearest road. This study provided important insights into RIFA invasions in an isolated island and the areas of control strategies implemented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Hsien Lin
- Department of Geography, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, 10617, Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC.,Department of Health Promotion and Health Education, National Taiwan Normal University, No. 162, Sec. 1, Heping E. Road, Taipei City, 10610, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Yi-Huei Liu
- Department of Geography, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, 10617, Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Rong-Nan Huang
- Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei City, 10617, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Chung-Chi Lin
- Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, No. 1, Jinde Road, Changhua City, 50007, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Helen Kang-Huey Liu
- Department of Political Science, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei City, 10617, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Tzai-Hung Wen
- Department of Geography, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, 10617, Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC.
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Oyen KJ, Croucher L, Benoit JB. Tonic Immobility Is Influenced by Starvation, Life Stage, and Body Mass in Ixodid Ticks. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 58:1030-1040. [PMID: 33590870 PMCID: PMC8122239 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjab003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
The ability to escape predation modulates predator-prey interactions and represents a crucial aspect of organismal life history, influencing feeding, mating success, and survival. Thanatosis, also known as death feigning or tonic immobility (TI), is taxonomically widespread, but understudied in blood-feeding vectors. Hematophagous arthropods, such as ticks, are unique among animals as their predators (birds, mice, lizards, frogs, and other invertebrates) may also be their source of food. Therefore, the trade-off between predator avoidance and host-seeking may shift as the time since the last bloodmeal increases. Because ticks are slow-moving and unable to fly, or otherwise escape, we predicted that they may use TI to avoid predation, but that TI would be influenced by time since the last bloodmeal (starvation). We therefore aimed to quantify this relationship, examining the effect of starvation, body mass, and ontogeny on TI for two tick species: Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (Acari: Ixodidae) and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille) (Acari: Ixodidae). As we predicted, the duration and use of TI decreased with time since feeding and emergence across species and life stages. Therefore, ticks may become more aggressive in their search for a bloodmeal as they continue to starve, opting to treat potential predators as hosts, rather than avoiding predation by feigning death. Antipredator behaviors such as TI may influence the intensity and amount of time ticks spend searching for hosts, driving patterns of tick-borne pathogen transmission. This identification and quantification of a novel antipredation strategy add a new component to our understanding of tick life history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kennan J Oyen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Lillian Croucher
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Joshua B Benoit
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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