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712 results for “tick”
Molecular characterisation of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus detected in African blue ticks feeding on cattle in a Ugandan abattoir
<p>CCHFV multiple sequence alignments and maximum likelihood phylogeny treefiles.</p>
Data from: Tick-borne disease risk in a forest food web
Changes to the community ecology of hosts for zoonotic pathogens, particularly rodents, are likely to influence the emergence and prevalence of zoonotic diseases worldwide. However, the complex interactions between abiotic factors, pathogens, vectors, hosts, and both food resources and predators of hosts are difficult to disentangle. Here we (1) use 19 years of data from six large field plots in southeastern New York to compare the effects of hypothesized drivers of interannual variation in Lyme disease risk, including the abundance of acorns, rodents, and deer, as well as a series of climate variables; and (2) employ landscape epidemiology to explore how variation in predator community structure and forest cover influences spatial variation in the infection prevalence of ticks for the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, and two other important tick-borne pathogens, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti. Acorn-driven increases in the abundance of mice were correlated with a lagged increase in the abundance of questing nymph-stage Ixodes scapularis ticks infected with Lyme disease bacteria. Abundance of white-tailed deer two years prior also correlated with increased density of infected nymphal ticks, although the effect was weak. Density of rodents in the current year was a strong negative predictor of nymph density, apparently because high current abundance of these hosts can remove nymphs from the host-seeking population. Warm, dry spring or winter weather was associated with reduced density of infected nymphs. At the landscape scale, the presence of functionally diverse predator communities or of bobcats, the only obligate carnivore, was associated with reduced infection prevalence of I. scapularis nymphs with all three zoonotic pathogens. In the case of Lyme disease, infection prevalence increased where coyotes were present but smaller predators were displaced or otherwise absent. For all pathogens, infection prevalence was lowest when forest cover within a 1km radius was high. Taken together, our results suggest that a food web perspective including bottom-up and top-down forcing is needed to understand drivers of tick-borne disease risk, a result that may also apply to other rodent-borne zoonoses. Prevention of exposure based on ecological indicators of heightened risk should help protect public health.
Data from: The dataset of ticks in South America
The datasets of records of the distribution of ticks are invaluable tools to understand the phylogenetic patterns of evolution of ticks and the abiotic traits to which they are associated. Such datasets require an exhaustive collection of bibliographical references. In most cases, it is necessary the confirmation of reliable identification of ticks, together with an update of the scientific names of the vertebrate hosts. For some biogeographic regions, these data are not easily available, because many records were published in the so-called "grey literature". We introduce the Dataset of Ticks in South America, a repository that collates data on more than 7,000 records of ticks, together with a set of abiotic traits, curated from satellite-derived information over the complete target region. The dataset includes data about ticks collected on wild hosts, with a special chapter devoted to species of cattle. It includes details of the phylogenetic relationships of the species of hosts, to provide researchers with both the biotic and abiotic traits, driving the distribution of ticks in South America.
For the people by the people: citizen science web interface for real-time monitoring of tick risk areas in Finland
<p>Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBDs) form a significant and growing threat to human health and well-being in Europe, with increasing numbers of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme borreliosis cases being reported during the past few decades. Increasing knowledge of tick risk areas and seasonal activity remains the primary method for preventing TBDs. Crowdsourcing provides the best alternative for rapidly obtaining data on tick occurrence on a national level.</p> <p>In order to produce and share up-to-date data about tick risk areas in Finland, an online platform, Punkkilive (www.punkkilive.fi/en), was launched in April 2021. On the website, users can submit and browse tick observations, report tick numbers and hosts, and upload pictures of ticks.</p> <p>Here, we looked at trends in the crowdsourced data from 2021, assessed the effect of local tick species on seasonality of observations, and examined sampling bias in the data.</p> <p>The high number of tick observations (n=78 837) highlights that there was demand for such a service. Approximately 97% of 5573 uploaded pictures represented ticks. Seasonal patterns of tick observations varied across Finland, highlighting variability in the risk associated with the two human-biting tick species <em>Ixodes ricinus</em> and <em>I. persulcatus</em>, the latter having a shorter, unimodal activity peak in late spring–early summer. Tick numbers were low and the proportion of new sightings was high in northern Finland, as may be expected near the latitudinal distribution limits of both species. While the number of inhabitants generally explained the number of tick observations well, geographically weighted regression models also identified areas that deviated from this general pattern.</p> <p>This study offers a prime example of how crowdsourcing can be applied to track vectors of zoonotic diseases, to the benefit of both researchers and the public. Areas with more or fewer observations than predicted based on number of inhabitants were revealed, wherein more specific analyses may reveal factors contributing to lower or higher risk levels that may be used in increasing awareness. We hope that the success of Punkkilive serves to highlight the usefulness of citizen science in the prevention of vector-borne diseases.</p>
Figure 3 in Determination of an efficient and reliable method for PCR detection of borrelial DNA from engorged ticks
Figure 3. Ratio of four different PCR types in presented ticks categories and isolation groups.
Forest associated habitat variables influence human-tick encounters in the southeastern United States
<p>Due to the increased frequency of human-tick encounters and expanding ranges of ticks in the United States, there is a critical need to identify environmental conditions associated with tick populations and their likelihood to contact human hosts. In a passive tick surveillance partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, we identified environmental variables associated with tick encounters by forestry personnel. Ticks were identified to species and life stage and site-specific variables were associated with each tick using FIA forest inventory datasets and generalized linear and zero-inflated models. Of the 55 FIA variables available, we identified biotic and abiotic environmental variables associated with <em>Amblyomma</em> <em>americanum</em> (carbon in litter material and standing dead tree aboveground dry biomass), <em>Dermacentor</em> <em>variabilis</em> (live sapling belowground dry biomass, carbon in litter material, forest stand age, and elevation), and <em>Ixodes</em> <em>scapularis</em> (carbon in dead woody material and seedling species unevenness). We propose that land management decisions not only affect common flora and fauna but changes to these habitats can also alter the way ticks parasitize hosts and use vegetation to find those hosts. Testing of these results can be used with land management decisions to prevent future encounters and highlight risk areas. Foresters that inventory sites encounter ticks, which we can then use to better understand the environmental conditions conducive to increased tick abundance or habitat suitability.</p>
Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, reduce predation risk by eavesdropping on communication signals of Formica oreas thatching ants
<p>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 defense. Ticks that avoid ant semiochemicals – as indicators of ant presence – would reduce predation risk by ants. We tested the hypotheses that (1) chemical deposits from the thatching ant <em>Formica</em> <em>oreas</em> deter blacklegged ticks,<em> Ixodes scapularis</em>, (2) deterrent semiochemicals originate from the ants' poison and/or Dufour's gland(s), and (3) tick-deterrent semiochemicals serve as alarm-recruitment pheromone components in <em>F. oreas</em>. 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 8 hydrocarbons as constituents in the Dufour's gland. Synthetic formic acid and hydrocarbons deterred ticks only when combined. <em>F. oreas</em> workers sprayed both formic acid and hydrocarbons when distressed. A synthetic blend of these compounds elicited alarm-recruitment responses by <em>F. oreas</em> in behavioural bioassays. All results combined indicate that ticks eavesdrop on the ants' communication system.</p>
Identification and expression of short neuropeptide F and its receptors in the tick Ixodes ricinus
<p>The open datasets include raw data covering results published in paper by Medla et al., 2023 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2023.104524)</p>
qPCR results from design and partial validation of three novel eDNA qPCR assays for several common North American tick (Arachnida: Ixodida) species
<p>The range expansion of ticks to higher latitudes poses a severe threat to human health exposing human populations who had no prior contact with ticks to several harmful tick-borne diseases. Early detection of ticks in new areas is critical to help inform the public and medical professionals of the dangers associated with tick encounters. Environmental DNA represents a novel survey method that could provide reliable records of tick occurrences and timely warnings of their range expansions. In this study, we designed three novel eDNA qPCR assays for three common North American tick species (<em>Dermacentor variabilis</em>, <em>Amblyomma americanum</em>, and <em>Ixodes scapularis</em>) and tested them on samples of grasses collected from grasslands and forests in Illinois. We provide <em>in silico</em> and <em>in vitro </em>validation of all three assays, however we were unable to generate any positive detections from field samples. Our lack of eDNA detections likely stems from low eDNA deposition rates coupled with rapid degradation in grasslands and forests, a problem exacerbated by terrestrial eDNA sampling methods that are limited by volume of substrate. We provide recommendations for improving sample collection methods to increase detection probability in future efforts. Continued research should focus on the viability of eDNA to detect small terrestrial invertebrates, like ticks, and it potential as early warning indicator of the spread of vector-borne diseases.</p>
Development of twenty-four microsatellite markers for Afrotropical Ornithodoros ticks
<p><strong>Background: </strong>Soft ticks of the genus <em>Ornithodoros</em> are responsible for the maintenance and transmission of the <em>African swine fever </em>(ASF)<em> virus</em> in the sylvatic and domestic viral cycles in Southern Africa. They are also the main vectors of <em>Borrelia</em> species causing relapsing fevers. Currently, no genetic markers are available for Afrotropical <em>Ornithodoros </em>ticks. As ASF spreads globally, such markers are needed to assess the role of ticks in the emergence of new outbreaks. The aim of this study was to design microsatellite markers that could be used for ticks of the <em>Ornithodoros moubata</em> complex, particularly <em>Ornithodoros phacochoerus</em>, to assess population structure and tick movements in ASF endemic areas.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>One hundred and fifty-one markers were designed using the <em>O. moubata </em>and <em>O. porcinus</em> genomes after elimination of repeated sequences in the genomes. All designed markers were tested on <em>O. phacochoerus </em>and <em>O. porcinus </em>DNA to select the best markers.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Twenty-four microsatellite markers were genotyped on two populations of <em>O. phacochoerus</em> and on few individuals from four other <em>Ornithodoros</em> species. Nineteen markers were selected to be as robust as possible for population genetic studies on <em>O. phacochoerus</em>.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The microsatellite markers developed here represent the first genetic tool to study nidicolous populations of Afrotropical <em>Ornithodoros</em>. This dataset contains the genotyping results obtained for all twenty-four markers tested.</p>
Dataset for "Cascading effects of mammal host community composition on tick vector occurrence at the urban human-wildlife interface"
<p>Dataset for the following paper:</p> <p><strong>Cascading effects of mammal host community composition on tick vector occurrence at the urban human-wildlife interface</strong></p> <p>Jonathan Bastard *, Nichar Gregory *, Maria Pilar Fernandez, Michaela Mincone, Olivia Card, Sara Kross, Maria Diuk-Wasser</p> <p>* These authors contributed equally.</p>
Temporal increase in ticks and pathogen prevalence in the small mammal part of the Lyme disease cycle in northern Europe
<p>Data and Scripts for our research article "Temporal increase in ticks and pathogen prevalence in the small mammal part of the enzootic Lyme disease cycle in northern Europe"</p>
Fig. 1. Tick species and the total monthly tick numbers collected during the 5 in Seasonal variations in ixodid tick populations on a commercial game farm in the Limpopo Province, South Africa
Fig. 1. Tick species and the total monthly tick numbers collected during the 5-year study period.
Data from: Variation in prevalence and intensity of macroparasites in moose and their interactions with winter tick load in eastern Canada
<p>Wild animals are infected with a large diversity and abundance of parasites that can affect their behavior, growth, body condition, and ultimately their survival. Although the adverse effects of parasites and the mechanisms involved in the interactions between a host and its parasites are generally well studied, much less is known about the additive or synergistic effects of multiple parasite species on a host. Moose populations in eastern Canada are infected by several species of endoparasites. In the last decades, the intensity of infestations by winter ticks, an ectoparasite, on moose have increased as a result of increased moose densities and favorable weather conditions that benefit winter tick survival. We aimed to document the diversity, intensity, prevalence, and distribution of different parasite species of moose in southern Quebec, Canada. We then evaluated the potential interaction between winter tick and endoparasites of moose, and we evaluated the effect of the simultaneous presence of ticks and endoparasites on moose body condition. To do so, we collected organs to identify and count endoparasite species, estimate winter tick abundance, and measure subcutaneous fat thickness from 174 hunted moose in fall 2019 in 8 regions of Quebec. Our results showed that the prevalence and intensity of winter tick and gastrointestinal parasites differed among regions, as well as the prevalence of the heart parasite <em>Taenia krabbei</em> and the intensity of lung parasite <em>Echinoccocus granulosus</em>. Moose body condition, however, was not influenced by the simultaneous presence of winter tick and endoparasites. The documentation of the interactive effects of multiple parasite species on a host is fundamental given that future environmental conditions in temperate climate will favor the reproduction, development, and survival of several parasite species, which could affect parasite diversity and abundance in the environment and modify host-parasite dynamics.</p>
Fig. 1 in First molecular detection of Francisella tularensis in turtle (Testudo graeca) and ticks (Hyalomma aegyptium) in Northwest of Iran
Fig. 1. The schematic map of the studied areas, West Azerbaijan (Oshnavieh), Iran.
Native and invaded plant communities alter tick exposure risk via different mechanistic pathways
<p>Plant invasions may alter vector-borne disease risk by modifying microclimates that influence vector survival, or by changing habitat conditions that determine reservoir host use. Here, we evaluated multiple mechanistic pathways by which plant invasion may alter vector-borne disease risk using the common disease vector lone star tick (<em>Amblyomma americanum</em>) and the widespread invasive cogongrass (<em>Imperata cylindrica</em>) in the southeastern USA. Ticks survived over 50% longer in invaded than native plant species dominated communities, likely due to lower temperature and higher humidity conditions. However, wildlife host activity was higher in native than invaded plant species dominated communities. As a result, host-seeking tick abundances were similar between invaded and native areas, albeit through different mechanisms: longer survival maintained tick abundances in invaded areas while greater host use maintained tick abundance in native areas. Multiple, potentially off-setting mechanistic pathways should be considered when evaluating possible effects of invasive plants on vector-borne disease risk.</p>
Data from: Climatic stress decreases tick survival but increases rate of host-seeking behavior
<p>Ticks are vectors of many diseases and are expanding in geographic distribution. However, how ticks will fare in their new environments where they may experience stressful climatic conditions at the expansion front remains unclear. Since there is a trade-off in ticks between behaviors that promote longevity and behaviors that promote reproduction, we hypothesized that extreme climatic stress reduces the survivorship of ticks but increases the frequency of tick host-seeking behavior or questing. Here, we used a novel method to simulate climatic stress on individual ticks of three species – Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, and Ixodes scapularis – to evaluate their survival, physiology, and questing behavior. The first experiment involved placing 144 adult ticks of each species in two temperature ranges (15-25 °C and 25-35 °C) and three relative humidity treatments (32% RH, 58% RH, and 84% RH). We assessed the ticks daily for survivorship and questing, and we measured water loss by comparing the mass of each tick when it died to when it was fully hydrated. In this first experiment, ticks in warmer and less humid conditions generally died faster than in cooler and more humid conditions. Ticks of all three species were more likely to quest shortly before their death and consistently died after losing approximately 50-56% of total body water content, but Ixodes reached that threshold much faster than the other two species. The second experiment involved placing 18 ticks of each species at 35 °C and 32% RH. We assessed the ticks every three hours for survivorship, questing, and water loss. Ticks again were more likely to quest shortly before their death. With frequent checks, we were able to measure the dehydration tolerance more accurately and the rate of water loss. Ticks of all three species consistently died after losing approximately 51% of total body water content. However, Ixodes lost water approximately 5× faster than Amblyomma and 11× faster than Dermacentor. These results demonstrate that severe climatic stress tilts the trade-off toward higher questing rates, but not higher overall questing time because of reduced survival rates. Further investigations of ticks' behavioral and physiological responses to abiotic stress are necessary to develop robust models of how climate change will affect the transmission of tick-borne diseases.</p>
Fig. 1 in The great gerbil (RhombomYS opimUS) as a host for tick species in Gurbantunggut Desert
Fig. 1 Sampling sites in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China
Fig. 2 in Infestation With Ixodes Ricinus Ticks On Migrating Passerine Birds In Lithuania And Norway
Fig. 2 Larval and nymphal infestation rates of passerine migratory birds in Norway and Lithuania
Figure 1 in Survival of entomopathogenic nematodes in oil emulsions and control effectiveness on adult engorged ticks (Acari: Ixodida)
Figure 1: Survival of IJs in five vegetable oil emulsions at concentration of 13%.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.