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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » Animal Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #400029
Research Project: Control Strategies for Bovine Babesiosis

Location: Animal Disease Research

Title: Egg hatching success is influenced by the time of thermal stress in four hard tick species

Author
item AJAYI, OLUWASEUN - University Of Cincinnati
item Oyen, Kennan
item DAVIES, BENJAMIN - University Of Cincinnati
item FINCH, GEOFFREY - University Of Cincinnati
item PILLER, BENJAMIN - University Of Cincinnati
item HARMEYER, ALISON - University Of Cincinnati
item WENDELN, KATHERINE - University Of Cincinnati
item PERRETTA, CARLIE - University Of Cincinnati
item ROSENDALE, ANDREW - University Of Cincinnati
item BENOIT, JOSHUA - University Of Cincinnati

Submitted to: Journal of Medical Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/9/2023
Publication Date: 10/27/2023
Citation: Ajayi, O.M., Oyen, K.J., Davies, B., Finch, G., Piller, B.D., Harmeyer, A.A., Wendeln, K., Perretta, C., Rosendale, A.J., Benoit, J.B. 2023. Egg hatching success is influenced by the time of thermal stress in four hard tick species. Journal of Medical Entomology. 61(1):110-120. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjad142.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjad142

Interpretive Summary: Ticks are a significant vector of numerous livestock diseases. Understanding how ticks will respond to environmental change will help target control efforts. Ticks can only persist in areas where their eggs will survive, but almost nothing is known about how temperatures affect eggs. We measured the impact of stressful temperature exposure on 5 species of tick eggs and compared their hatching success. We found that tick eggs are particularly vulnerable to stressful temperature exposure early in development and this was common to all species. We also found that tick eggs are generally less hardy than other life stages so eggs might be a good target for tick control efforts.

Technical Abstract: Ticks are blood-feeding arthropods responsible for the transmission of disease-causing pathogens to a wide range of vertebrate hosts, including livestock and humans. Tick-borne diseases have been implicated in significant economic losses to livestock production, and this threat will increase as these obligate parasites widen their geographical ranges. Similar to other ectotherms, thermal stress due to changing global temperatures has been shown to influence tick survival and distribution. However, studies on the influence of extreme temperatures in ticks have focused on advanced, mobile stages, ignoring immobile stages that cannot move to more favorable microhabitats. In this study, low- and high-temperature regimens were assessed in relation to egg viability for hard tick species—Amblyomma maculatum (Gulf Coast tick), Ixodes scapularis (black-legged tick), Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick), and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Brown dog tick). Tick eggs exposed early in development (freshly laid during early embryo development) were significantly more susceptible to thermal stress when compared with those exposed later in development (late embryo development denoted by a fecal spot). Based on our studies, differences in egg hatching success among treatments were greater than in hatching success when comparing species. Lastly, there was evidence of extreme thermal exposure significantly altering the hatching times of tick eggs for specific treatments. These results provide insights into the critical period for tick egg viability in relation to thermal exposure and tick survival associated with stress and climate change.