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Goddard J, Caprio M, Bittner J, Willeford K, Ward S. Laboratory studies of movement and microenvironment choices of engorged adult female Amblyomma maculatum (Acari: Ixodidae). JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2024:tjae082. [PMID: 38956860 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjae082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Microenvironmental factors affect ovipositional choices and behavior in ticks. In this study, engorged female Amblyomma maculatum Koch were released in an observation arena covered with garden soil. The arena was evenly split into wet and dry sides, each containing 5 different types of structures (totaling 10). Upon release, observations at particular time points were made over 2 days as to speed, distance, actual paths traveled, and ultimate site selection, presumably for oviposition. In addition, time-lapse videography was utilized to record the track of each individual tick. This scenario was replicated 3 times with different cohorts of ticks (n = 5 per replicate). Of the total 15 ticks released in the arena, all attained a final site selection by 24 h. These final sites were 7/15 (47%) edge of arena; 2/15 (13%) under bark; 2/15 (13%) open soil; 2/15 (13%) at or near release point; 1/15 (7%) tunnel with animal fur; and 1/15 (7%) tunnel with chicken feathers. At final site selection, 11/15 (73%) subsequently burrowed into the soil, 3 of which were completely buried. Time-lapse videography revealed that most ticks (80%) explored the arena in a "looping back" fashion. Overall, engorged Gulf Coast ticks moved at an average speed of 0.09 mm/s, and the total distance traversed by the ticks averaged 2.37 m.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerome Goddard
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | - Michael Caprio
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | - Jennifer Bittner
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | - Kendall Willeford
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | - Samuel Ward
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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Allerdice MEJ, Snellgrove AN, Hecht JA, Hartzer K, Jones ES, Biggerstaff BJ, Ford SL, Karpathy SE, Delgado-de la Mora J, Delgado-de la Mora D, Licona-Enriquez JD, Goddard J, Levin ML, Paddock CD. Reproductive incompatibility between Amblyomma maculatum (Acari: Ixodidae) group ticks from two disjunct geographical regions within the USA. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2020; 82:543-557. [PMID: 33091146 PMCID: PMC11008682 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-020-00557-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The Amblyomma maculatum Koch group of ixodid ticks consists of three species: A. maculatum, A. triste, and A. tigrinum. However, since Koch described this group in 1844, the systematics of its members has been the subject of ongoing debate. This is especially true of A. maculatum and A. triste; recent molecular analyses reveal insufficient genetic divergence to separate these as distinct species. Further confounding this issue is the discovery in 2014 of A. maculatum group ticks in southern Arizona (AZ), USA, that share morphological characteristics with both A. triste and A. maculatum. To biologically evaluate the identity of A. maculatum group ticks from southern Arizona, we analyzed the reproductive compatibility between specimens of A. maculatum group ticks collected from Georgia (GA), USA, and southern Arizona. Female ticks from both Arizona and Georgia were mated with males from both the Georgia and Arizona Amblyomma populations, creating two homologous and two heterologous F1 cohorts of ticks: GA ♀/GA ♂, AZ ♀/AZ ♂, GA ♀/AZ ♂, and AZ ♀/GA ♂. Each cohort was maintained separately into the F2 generation with F1 females mating only with F1 males from their same cohort. Survival and fecundity parameters were measured for all developmental stages. The observed survival parameters for heterologous cohorts were comparable to those of the homologous cohorts through the F1 generation. However, the F1 heterologous females produced F2 egg clutches that did not hatch, thus indicating that the Arizona and Georgia populations of A. maculatum group ticks tested here represent different biological species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle E J Allerdice
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA.
| | - Alyssa N Snellgrove
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Joy A Hecht
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Kris Hartzer
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Emma S Jones
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Office of the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Brad J Biggerstaff
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Office of the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Shelby L Ford
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Sandor E Karpathy
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jesus Delgado-de la Mora
- Departamento de Anatomía Patológica, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, Mexico
| | - David Delgado-de la Mora
- Departamento de Anatomía Patológica, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, Mexico
| | | | - Jerome Goddard
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA
| | - Michael L Levin
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Christopher D Paddock
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Portugal JS, Wills R, Goddard J. Laboratory Studies of Questing Behavior in Colonized Nymphal Amblyomma maculatum Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2020; 57:1480-1487. [PMID: 32307540 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaa077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Environmental factors affect host-seeking behavior in ticks. In this study, 80 nymphal Amblyomma maculatum Koch were released in an observation arena containing four different heights of broomsedge stems (Andropogon virginicus L.) anchored in sand. Observations were made over three days as to proportion of ticks questing, questing height, and stem height distribution This scenario was replicated three times with different cohorts of ticks (n = 80 per replicate) for each of three treatment combinations of temperature and humidity: High temperature/high humidity (HTHH), high temperature/low humidity (HTLH), and low temperature/high humidity (LTHH). A fourth treatment utilizing the same size cohort and number of replicates included Wind (HTHHW+/-) by alternating days of wind and no-wind conditions over four days. Mean questing height for ticks under HTHH, HTLH, and LTHH conditions ranged from 4.45 to 6.03 cm with ticks questing significantly higher in HTHH. A significantly lower proportion ticks quested in HTLH (8.64%) than HTHH (14.06%) and LTHH (15.33%). In HTHH and LTHH, a significantly higher proportion of ticks were observed questing on 5-cm stems. Wind significantly reduced average questing height, and when absent, ticks on 20- and 30-cm stems quested significantly higher. These data indicate that A. macuatum nymphs randomly select stems to quest upon and climb upward until environmental conditions are prohibitive/ideal. Conditions with reduced vapor pressure deficit (VPD) led to higher questing frequency and height. Relatively low questing heights observed correspond with size of preferred hosts and may explain infrequency of collection by dragcloth in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Santos Portugal
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Twelve Lane, Mississippi State, MS
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. Edward's University, Austin, TX
| | - Robert Wills
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
| | - Jerome Goddard
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Twelve Lane, Mississippi State, MS
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