Determining The Critical Weight Of The Rocky Mountain Wood Ticks Dermacentor andersoni Stiles (Acari: Ixodidae)

• Critical Weight Of Dermacentor Andersoni

• Author / Creator

  Ullah, A.K.M. Shahid

• The feeding cycle of female ixodid ticks is divided into preparatory, slow and rapid feeding phases. Female ticks, virgin or mated, reach a ‘critical weight’ (CW; 10-13X the unfed weight) at the transition between the slow and rapid feeding phases, which is characterized by several physiological and behavioural changes. To date, the CW has been determined for Amblyomma hebraeum only. This study established that, in both mated and virgin Dermacentor Andersoni, salivary gland degeneration and ovarian development are triggered when the tick exceeds 10-13X the unfed weight. However, mated ticks undergo these changes 4 days earlier than virgin ticks. Unlike A. hebraeum, virgin D. andersoni regularly fed well beyond their CW, and occasionally fed up to 100X their unfed weight.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Dermacentor andersoni
  • ixodid tick
  • Rocky mountain wood tick
  • critical weight
  • salivary gland degeneration
  • ovary weight
  • oocyte length
  • ovary vitellin content
  • reattachment

• Graduation date

  Fall 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3ND2N

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.