Progress 09/18/09 to 09/17/14
Outputs Target Audience: Target audiences include the scientific community interested in ticks as vectors, the animal and public health communities interested in minimizing risks of tick-borne diseases, and landowners and managers of private and public lands involved in livestock and wildlife management. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project provided training and professional development for 3 graduate students, all of whom were U.S. military officers on educational assignment, including tick rearing, tick identification, tick ecology, and serological techniques for tick-borne pathogen surveillance. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been shared with other scientists and human and animal health practitioners through presentations of posters and oral presentations. Results have also be shared through workshop presentations to regional landowner and beef cattle producer groups. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
We now know how microclimate temperature and relative humidity influence the molting and survivorship of the Gulf Coast tick in canopied and uncanopied habitats. This step permits a spatial and temporal assessment of habitat type, for example grass, versus brush, versus woodland, on the production of ticks and the risks associated with tick population change. We also have found that the meteorologic and climatic characteristics captured in the National Drought Monitor data enable us to assess and predict tick population trends, when interpreted using the physiological ecology of tick water balance and their risks of desiccation in the environment. For our Texas climate, NDM data seems to explain tick population trends for two species when lagged appropriately based upon the annual life history patterns of each species. Seven ixodid tick species were found to be present on feral swine in Texas and longitudinal studies show feral swine are involved in sustaining tick populations in many ecoregions of the state. Serologic evidence of feral swine exposure to tick-borne Erhichia, Rickettsia, and Borrelia indicates potential for feral swine to sustain pathogens of importance to human and animal health. Serological data also indicates feral swine exposure to the soft tick, Ornithodoros turicata, responsible for transmission of the pathogen for human relapsing fever. This tick is also a putative vector of African Swine Fever virus.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Nielsen-Gammon, J., S. Karpanty, W. Lauenroth, T. Martin, J. Nejstgaard, K.B. Strychar, P.D. Teel, L. Thompson, R. Waskom, and J. Wu. 2014. Science, Education and Outreach Roadmap for Natural Resources-Grande Challenge 3-Climate Change. W.D. Edge and W. Fink, Eds., Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, Board on Natural Resources and Board on Oceans, Atmosphere, and Climate. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/47169
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Perez de Leon, A.A., P.D. Teel, A. Li, L. Ponnusamy, and M. Roe. 2014. Advancing Integrated Tick Management to Mitigate Burden of Tick-Borne Diseases. Outlooks on Pest Management. DOI: 10.1564/v25_dec_00
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Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13
Outputs Target Audience: Presentations and posters have been given to professional society meetings (Entomological Society of America, Diseases In Nature, Western Section Society of Animal Science), as well as to regulatory agencies (Texas Animal Health Commission and USDA) and producer groups (Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course) Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Students received laboratory training in sample collection, quality control, sample processing, data recording and processing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? To date, results of these studies have been presented in oral presentation or poster formats to professional societies, to regulatory agencies, and to producer and landowner groups, as well as to the scientific community through peer reviewed publication. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We plan to follow up with collaborators seeking to test Borrelia turicatae infection in feral swine and whether feral swine may produce detectable antibodies to tick challenge by Ornithodorus turicata.
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
Results of the feral swine field work describing 7 species of ixodid ticks in Texashas been published and serological evidence has led to a collaborative effort to gain further data on Borrelia exposure in feral swine. Collaborative studies on the use of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) of animal feces to detect tick infestation is expanding to include wildlife species. In 2013, a laboratory trial indicatesNIRS of feces from cattle fever tick infested and non-infested cattle show spectral changes in infested cattle that are uniquely different from non-infested cattle. The basis of these differences is the immune-endocrine-digestive physiological axis in these hosts, and provides potential for discovery of unique methods to detect cattle fever tick infested cattle. An important expansion of this question is whether wildlife would show similar responses. One of the principal tick species found on feral swine in central and east Texas is Amblyomma americanum. Microbiome evaluation of Amblyomma americanum nymphs from blood feeding, through molting, and adult aging captured important changes in microbial composition and abundance through these tick life cycle phases. Adult ticks having fed on a single host kept under constant conditions through molting were divided into two groups, one sustained under optimal laboratory conditions of temperature and humidity, the other placed under outdoor conditions. The duration of this exposure resulted in significant differences in microbial diversity and relative abundance of major microbial groups. Such changes in microbial diversity suggest spatial and temporal influences among ticks in the off-host environments with corresponding influences on emergence of microbial pathogens. Our feral swinestudy showed animalsseropositive to Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, and Borrelia over abroad expanse of Texas landscapes.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Tolleson, D.R., Teel, P.D., Strey, O.F., Prince, S.D., Miller, R.J., and Perez de Leon, A.A. (2013). The effect of tick species on fecal near infrared spectroscopy predicted diet quality of cattle. Proc. Western Section, American Society of Animal Science 64:249-253.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Menchaca, A.C., Visi, D., Strey, O.F., Teel, P.D., Kalinowski, K., Allen, M.S., and Williamson, P.C. (2013). Preliminary assessment of microbiome changes following blood-feeding and survivorship in the Amblyomma americanum nymph-to-adult transition using semiconductor sequencing. PLOS One 9(6):e67129.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Sanders, D.M., Schuster, A.L., McCardle, P.W., Strey, O.F., Blankenship, T.L. and Teel, P.D. (2013). Ixodid ticks associated with feral swine in Texas. J. Vector Ecology 38 (2):1-13.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Tolleson, D.R., Prince, S.D., Banik, K.K., Welsh, T.J.,Jr., Carstens, G.E., Strey, O.F., Teel, P.D., Willard, S.T., and Longnecker, M.T. (2013). Plane of nutrition by tick burden interaction in cattle: Effect on fecal composition. J. Animal Sci. 91:1-8.
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs OUTPUTS: Several ixodid tick species commonly infesting feral swine in Texas have become focal points for further study. Retrospective studies of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, the cayenne tick, A. cajennense, the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, and the winter tick, Dermacentor albipictus are being conducted using the state-federal tick surveillance data to determine whether these species have changed in distribution and frequency of collection since 1990. These retrospective assessments encompass several wet-dry climate cycles as well as the expansion of feral swine. Development of a 3-host ixodid tick simulation model based upon the biology, ecology, and host relationships of A. americanum now provide a landscape-level assessment tool for the interactive systems that support maintenance of this tick, and may be used as a model system for other 3-host species. PARTICIPANTS: The tick simulation model was a collaboration with Dr. Huisauo Wang and Dr. William E. Grant of the Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences Department at Texas A&M University. The retrospective assessment of tick species is being carried out with undergraduate students and student workers. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for the new tick modelling effort are scientists and practicioners involved in the study of ticks and tick-borne pathogens for both human and animal health, or One-Health arenas. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts The development of a 3-host tick simulation model that assesses landscape-level systems supporting tick populations enables the model to be sensitive to specific conditions of different landscape characteristics, thus essential questions can be posed for specific reference of space and time considerations. For example, we are able to assess the impact of changes in host communities, habitat changes, or drought. These advances will be extended by developing a complimentary tick pathogen model in the coming months.
Publications
- Wang, H., W.E. Grant and P.D. Teel. 2012. Simulation of climate-host-parasite-landscape interactions: A spatially explicit model for ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). Ecological Modelling 243:42-62.
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Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs OUTPUTS: Collections of feral swine and ticks were extended into 2011 in three wildlife districts in east (Post Oak Savannah), central (Hill Country) and south (South Texas Plains) to provide longitudinal data for each species in diverse environments. The USDA, NIFA, S-RIPM proposal to examine climate variation on the Gulf Coast tick was selected for funding. Information from these activities is being disseminated through reports and publication of results to target audiences including livestock, wildlife, and public health associations and agencies with scientific, regulatory, and policy interests associated with ticks as pests and as vectors of tick-borne diseases. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts Five hundred sixty four feral swine were harvested across all 3 wildlife districts. Ticks were collected from all feral swine age classes by gender classifications throughout all seasons. Fourteen percent of feral swine were infested by 4 species of ticks in the Hill Country district, 67% of swine were infested by the same 4 tick species in the Post Oak district, and 86% of swine were infested by a different combination of 4 tick species in the South Texas Plains district. The longitudinal data confirm a typical pattern of host utilzation consistant with known activity periods for each tick species.
Publications
- Schuster, A.L. 2011. Spatial and Temporal Survey of Feral Pig Ectoparasites in Three Texas Wildlife Districts. Dissertation, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
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Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs OUTPUTS: Final draft of a review manuscript on the biology and ecology of the Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, was submitted to the Journal of Medical Entomology for peer review. Serum samples from approximately 900 feral swine collected in Texas were taken to the NIH Laboratories, Hamilton, MT, and tested by ELISA to Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Borrelia. Individuals found ELISA-positive to Borrelia were further evaluated by western-blot testing. A multiplex PCR assay was developed in our laboratories and used to test several hundred samples of whole blood obtained from collections of Texas feral swine. The testing and evaluation of serum and whole blood samples were assembled into the first dissertation on this subject and will subsequently be submitted to scientific journals. A longitudinal survey of feral swine ectoparasties and blood samples was expanded to sites in central and northeast Texas. The SR-IPM proposal submission was resubmitted for the 2011 program RFP. Information from these activities is being disseminated through reports and publication of results to target audiences including livestock, wildlife, and public health associations and agencies with scientific, regulatory, and policy interests associated with ticks as pests and as vectors of tick-borne diseases. PARTICIPANTS: Graduate students working on the project are members of the US Armed Forces Medical Services Corps on assignment to complete doctoral programs. Organizations providing collaborative support include the Welder Wildlife Refuge, the Texas Animal Health Commission, the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, the Texas Department of Corrections, and Texas AgriLife Extension. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include livestock, wildlife, and public health associations and agencies with scientific, regulatory, and policy interests associated with ticks as pests and as vectors of tick-borne diseases. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts Our review of the Gulf Coast tick was accepted and published, and the impact has generated further collaborations on this species. Evidence that feral swine are involved in tickborne zoonotic diseases in Texas is provided by several lines of investigation. Discovery of seven species of ticks recovered across all classes of gender and age and on all collection dates indicate year-round exposure to vectors and pathogens in most of the 10 ecological regions of Texas. Serological prevalence to Rickettsia (27.59%), Ehrlichia (13.18%), and Borrelia (2.12%) indicate feral swine are seroconverting to organisms from these genera. Further evidence of exposure to tick-borne Borrelia were obtained from western-blot and PCR results. The findings have potential health impacts on both human and livestock diseases, and illustrate the importance of this invasive vertebrate species in zoonotic cycles.
Publications
- Teel, P.D., H.R. Ketchum, D.E. Mock, R.E.Wright, and O.F. Strey. 2010. The Gulf Coast Tick: A Review of the Life History, Ecology, Distribution, and Emergence as an Arthropod of Medical and Veterinary Importance. J. Medical Entomology 47(5): 707-722; DOI: 10.1603/ME10029.
- Sanders, D.M. 2011. Ticks and Tick-borne Pathogens Associated with Feral Swine in Edwards Plateau and Gulf Coast Prairies and Marches Ecoregions of Texas. Dissertation, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
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Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs OUTPUTS: Archived Gulf Coast tick collection records from 32 livestock auctions in a 90 county inland area have been reviewed for reliability in collaboration with inspectors and supervisors of the Texas Animal Health Commission for the period 1992-2008. Meteorological data for each of the 90 counties is being compiled for forthcoming analyses of tick collection records. Ectoparasites and blood have been collected from feral swine in 3 ecological regions of Texas. Ticks from these samples have been identified and blood samples prepared for serological and PCR testing of tick-borne diseases. Positive control sera to four tick-borne pathogen groups have been produced in preparation for testing of feral swine sera. PARTICIPANTS: Graduate students working on the project are members of the Armed Forces Medical Services Corps with the Army and Air Force. Organizations providing collaborative support include the Welder Wildlife Refuge, the Texas Animal Health Commission, the Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health. Specialized training for serological diagnostics is planned for 2010. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include livestock, wildlife, and public heatlh associations and agencies with scientific, regulatory, and policy interests associated with ticks as pests and as vectors of tick-borne diseases. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts This project has generated shared interests in Gulf Coast tick population changes with researchers in both Texas and Oklahoma. We have partnered across 3 institutions and 2 agencies on a project design to test the survivorship of uniform cohorts of laboratory reared Gulf Coast ticks released in two habitat types at 4 locations from Payne County Oklahoma to Brazos County Texas. The design is intended to measure survivorship responses related to microclimate temperature and humidity conditions at each location and to further test how wet-dry cycles influence tick populations. This design has been submitted in a grant proposal to the SR-IPM program for 2010. Department of Defense doctoral students are conducting arthropod and arthropod-borne disease research on the feral swine project. Ninety-nine percent of the more than 150 feral swine collected to-date were tick infested. Seven species of ticks representing both one- and three-host life cycles have been identified. The probability of feral swine playing a role in the maintenance of zoonotic diseases is supported by this finding and the finding has drawn project interest from the National Institutes of Health. We have completed development of positive controls in swine by developing antibodies to four genus-level antigens of common tick-borne zoonoses. The NIH is collaborating on this project by supporting student training and testing for these four zoonoses in 2010.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs OUTPUTS: Partial secondary structural consensus models for the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene were constructed using a comparative structural approach to explore structural variation among seven Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, haplotypes and to guide construction of a multiple sequence alignment for the Amblyomma genus. Results of this genus-wide phylogenetic analysis suggests the Western Hemisphere "A. maculatum group" consisting of A. maculatum, A. triste, and A. tigrinum may be synonyms and that further research is needed to clarify their status. A manuscript describing these results is near submission. A 16-year retrospective study of Gulf Coast tick collections in central Texas is proceeding. Results to-date suggest that year-to-year changes in number of collection events can be partially explained using KDBI drought index values. These values appear to better reflect temporal and spatial ecological influences that would suppress or support Gulf Coast tick populations. Complete analyses and interpretations will be compiled in a 2009 thesis. PARTICIPANTS: The secondary structural analysis of the 16S rRNA gene was accomplished through collaboration with Dr. Dino P. McMahon, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, UK, along with advice and review of Dr. Spencer Johnston, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University. Veterinarians and Animal Health Inspectors of the Texas Animal Health Commission provided advice and guidance to define spatial and temporal aspects of the 16-year tick collection data set from the state tick surveillance program. Their assistance has been invaluable in assessing population changes of the Gulf Coast tick relative to environmental parameters. Our Department of Entomology Tick Research Laboratory delivered the 8th Class on Tick Identification for 25 employees of the Texas Animal Health Commission and the State-Federal Laboratory. This class is part of professional development for Animal Health Inspectors of the TAHC. Dr. James Mertins, NVSL, Ames, IA, collaborated in the identification and verification of Amblyomma triste collections from Texas. TARGET AUDIENCES: State and federal initiatives were developed to educate authorities to concerns involving ticks and tickborne diseases and seek or develop funding opportunities to address pressing research needs. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts The retrospective study of Gulf Coast tick collections in central Texas is a collaboration with the Texas Animal Health Commission and integrates subsets of their tick surveillance data with meteorological data from several sources including NOAA. Veterinarians and Animal Health Inspectors worked with us to refine spatial and temporal reliability of the data under analysis. The impact of this collaboration may provide predictive risk assessment models for use in IPM applications for producers and for biosecurity risk assessment in the event the Gulf Coast tick becomes involved in transmission of the exotic tickborne disease of ruminants called heartwater. The secondary structural analysis of the 16S rRNA gene that now questions the validity of the species comprising the "A. maculatum group" will likely lead to international collaborations. Records now show that these Western Hemisphere species overlap geographically. A. triste, normally found in Central and South America has now been collected in Texas. These ticks share common host groups and may transmit similar pathogens, thus impacting both livestock and human health concerns.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs Gulf Coast ticks were collected in 2007 from original reference sites in Oklahoma and Texas to determine any changes in the frequencies of the 16s rDNA gene haplotypes established from ticks collected at these sites in 2002. This study was expanded to include Gulf Coast ticks collected from other locations in Texas and Florida. Results from this study are being analyzed and will be included in a Master of Science thesis and journal submission in 2008. A 16 year retropesptive study of Gulf Coast tick collections in Central Texas is underway to determine if the relative changes in these collections can be associated with changes in rainfall, temperature, soil moisture, or drought cycles. The premise of this study is that dessication of ticks during the off-host life cycle negatively impacts tick survivorship, population growth and dispersal. Results of this study may provide the basis for forcast models of tick abundance and risk assessment.
Impacts Cattle producers experience substantial economic losses to Gulf Coast ticks. This tick is now recognized as a vector of several pathogens of importance to humans and canines in the US and is a potential vector of a foreign animal disease of cattle and other ruminants known as heartwater. Applications of the tick pheromone discoveries in this research may lead to more targeted control and surveillance technologies for the prevention and protection of cattle and other ruminants in the US. Discoveries of the genetic variation of Gulf Coast ticks in the US may lead to better targeted strategies for IPM and for reassessing the pathogen transmission potential of this tick across the southern US. Forcasting tick population changes based on climatological cycles could improve tick control tactics and the risks associated with the introduction of exotic diseases such as heartwater.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs Compilation of tick collection data is near completion and ready for temporal and spatial analysis. Compounds found in the fed-male phermone have been identified and will be subject of a provisional patent application. Modifications to DNA extraction and PCR protocols for population genetic studies of alcohol stored specimens are underway and will enable improved analysis of ticks in long term storage.
Impacts Cattle producers experience substantial economic losses annually to Gulf Coast ticks. The potential of this tick to transmit the foreign animal disease known as heartwater has further increased animal health concerns. Forcasting tick population changes based on climatological cycles could improve tick control tactics and the risks associated with the introduction of exotic diseases such as heartwater.
Publications
- Ketchum, H.R., P.D. Teel, O.F. Strey and M.T. Longnecker. 2006. Mating success of two geographically distinct populations of Gulf Coast ticks, Amblyomma maculatum Koch. Veterinary Parasitology 140:143-47.
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs The compilation of Gulf Coast tick collection data for Texas by county, date and host from 1974 to present has continued and will be the focus of ecological and meteorological analysis. The pheromone produced by feeding males is being further studied and analyzed to chemically identify and characterize the principle components for bioassay of activity for females and nymphs. Work is proceeding to determine regional geographic variation in the 16S ribosomal gene of the Gulf Coast tick. Collection material from the National Tick Surveillance Program is being compiled and used for the population genetics study.
Impacts Cattle producers experience substantial economic losses annually to Gulf Coast ticks. The potential of this tick to transmit the foreign animal disease known as heartwater has further increased animal health concerns. Forcasting tick population changes based on climatological cycles could improve tick control tactics and the risks associated with the introduction of exotic diseases such as heartwater.
Publications
- Ketchum, H.R., Teel, P.D., O.F. Strey, and M.T. Longnecker. 2006. Mating success of two geographically distinct populations of Gulf Coast ticks, Amblyomma maculatum Koch. Veterinary Parasitology 140:143-47.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs An assessment of the influence of wet/dry climatological cycles on the distribution of the Gulf Coast tick is being conducted to determine the rates of expansion and contraction of tick populations and investigate regulating mechanisms. Progress is being made on compiling Gulf Coast tick collection data for Texas by county and year from 1974 to present. These data will be analyzed using weather factors for drought cycles including several functions of temperature and moisture that would explain cycles of population decline or growth during the off-host phase of the life cycle. The approach to this analysis will be to identify a likely multivariate model that could explain the expansion and contraction of this species in Texas and provide the basis for risk assessment of heartwater, were it to be introduced to the region. Archived data sets of untreated cattle in ear-tag efficacy studies have provided the basis to test the hypothesis that female Gulf Coast tick bovine
host selection is not a random, but based upon the selection of a host that has feeding male ticks. Analysis of the number and sex of Gulf Coast ticks infesting individual animals in control groups for 3 years by Chi Square analysis confirms that female host selection is not random in early, or late season periods. Bovine host finding is associated with the presence of feeding male ticks. This is further supported by y-tube olfactometry bioassay results showing a synergistic female response to combined stimuli of a pheromone from fed males mixed with carbon dioxide compared to either stimulus alone. These results support the conceptual use of pheromone-acaricide mixtures to attract and kill parasites, or to use the phermones in surveillance tactics.
Impacts Cattle producers experience substantial losses annually to Gulf Coast ticks. The potential of this tick to transmit the foreign animal disease known as heartwater has increased animal health concerns. Discovery of pheromone-based tactics to be used in Gulf Coast tick surveillance could improve the use of acaricide treatments to suppress tick populations and decrease the risk of production loss. Tick population changes with respect to climatological cycles could help improve diagnostic forcasts of tick problems and the risks associated with the introduction of exotic diseases such as heartwater.
Publications
- Williams-Ketchum, H.R., P.D. Teel, O.F. Strey, and M.T. Longnecker. 2005. Feeding predilection sites of Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum Koch, nymphs on cattle. Vet. Parasitol. (Accepted).
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs Collection data for Gulf Coast ticks in Texas is being compiled to provide county level information for a period from 1974 to 2002 in order that an assessment of the influence of climatological data on the changes in distribution/populations can be attempted. Previous short-term analyses indicate that wet/dry season changes have a strong influence on tick detection and therefore on distribution and abundance. Gulf Coast nymphs have been found to respond to the male AAP phermone by aggregating near feeding male ticks, suggesting that the male phermone may provide help in surveillance tactics for immature ticks. The aggregation-attraction pheromone has been extracted from fed males and found to be biologically active for female ticks in two bioassay systems. Olfactometry tests show that female response is greater for a combination of CO2 and pheromone than for either source alone. Progress has been made on publishing a review for this species, on a molecular genetics
study of 4 geographic strains, and on the suitability of nymphs to feed on cattle.
Impacts Discovery of tactics to be used in surveillance for this tick could improve the use of acaricide treatments to suppress tick populations and decrease the risk of production loss. Changes in tick populations with respect to climate could help improve diagnostic forcasts of tick problems and the risks associated with the introduction of exotic diseases such as heartwater.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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