Survival of off-host Dermacentor albipictus (Acari: Ixodidae) adult females and larvae underwater

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Sullivan, C.F., Parker, B.L., Skinner, M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2022
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Alces alces
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2022-0003; https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2022-0003; https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2022-0003

The winter tick ( Dermacentor albipictus (Packard, 1869); Acari: Ixodidae) significantly affects the health and productivity of North American moose ( Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758); Artiodactyla: Cervidae). Survival of off-host stages of Ixodid ticks depends on microclimate driven in part by extrinsic factors resulting from weather, such as temperature, humidity, drought, and floods. The impact of some of these abiotic factors is unclear for D. albipictus. The effect of water submergence on biological parameters of engorged, adult, females, and unfed larvae was assessed in the laboratory. Survival of adult females after submergence for 3 days was 88% with significant effects on their ability to oviposit. After 5 weeks, 63% of larvae (1-month-old) survived submergence in water, whereas survival of larvae (3-month-old) was reduced to 23% after 7 days. The off-host stages of D. albipictus have variable tolerance to periods of submergence that may influence the number of larvae available on the landscape for recruitment to moose in autumn.