Ixodes Uriae Research Articles

Taggert (TAG)

Information from: R. L. Doherty, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia, 20 December 1974.Antigenic group: Sakhalin.Original source: Isolated by Doherty and colleagues at Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, from nymphs of Ixodes (Ceratixodes) uriae collected by hand in January 1972 at Macquarie Island, Lat. 54°30'S, Long. 159°E. Habitat: Island in Southern Ocean, 800 miles southeast of Tasmania. In tussock grass and under planks on the foreshore near a rookery of the Royal Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus schiegeli). Storage: Transported alive to Australia at ambient temperature, held at 8-10°C until moulted.Method of isolation in laboratory: Ticks ground in phosphate buffered saline containing 0.75% bovine albumin. Suspension inoculated 0.015 ml ic in 1-day-old mice on 1 March 1972.Validity of isolation: Virus reisolated. Additional isolates from same collection; virus distinct from any previously in this laboratory.

The ectoparasites of three species of seabirds from Newfoundland, Canada.

Two groups of ectoparasites, namely Mallophaga and Acarina, were recovered from 47 Larus argentatus, 29 Rissa tridactyla, and 18 Oceanodroma leucorhoa taken on Gull Island, Witless Bay, Newfoundland, during the period June–August 1974. Mallophaga of the genera Saemundssonia and Quadraceps (Ischnocera) were found to be common ectoparasites of both L. argentatus and R. tridactyla and the genera Halipeurus (Ischnocera) and Austromenopon (Amblycera) were recovered from O. leucorhoa. A single ixodid tick, Ixodes (Ceratixodes) uriae, was recovered from an R. tridactyla chick. Only O. leucorhoa were found to harbour feather mites, these belonging to the genera Zachvatkinia, Brephosceles, Connivelobus, and Ingrassia.Details on the degree of infestation of the birds are given as well as the distribution of each ectoparasite species on the hosts.

AVIAN ARBOVIRUSES OF THE WITLESS BAY SEABIRD SANCTUARY, NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA

A virologic and serologic survey of arbovirus infections among seabirds and seabird ticks, Ixodes uriae, on Great Island. Witless Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, was conducted during 1971 and 1972. Kermerovo (Great Island, Bauline) and Sakhalin (Avalon) group viruses previously reported from birds and/or ticks on Great Island were prevalent among avian populations, while conclusive evidence of known nonindigenous serotypes was lacking. Circumstantial evidence-hemagglutination inhibiting antibody-of an unidentified member of the group B tick-borne encephalitis complex transmitted among marine birds of North America by I. uriae is reported. No evidence of human infections with any of these viruses was detected in a small number of biologists doing research on Great Island.

Bionomics of Ixodes (Ceratixodes) uriae White, 1852 on auks (Alcidae) from Newfoundland.

Two hundred and fifty auks of five species (Alca torda, Uria aalge, Uria lomvia, Cepphus grylle, Fratercula arctica) were collected in Newfoundland in 1972 and 1973, and examined for Ixodes uriae. Ticks were recovered from all the bird species examined except C. grylle. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was found in the burden on adult auks with regard to sex and weight. The distribution of the tick stages on the hosts is presented: adult females prefer the neck, larvae prefer the body regions. The distribution of nymphs varied with the host species. The population structure of the tick on the hosts is recorded. Immature auks are rarely infested.

Histopathological changes associated with the attachment of Ixodes (Ceratixodes) uriae White, 1852.

Forty-eight hours after the attachment of a nymphal Ixodes uriae to a domestic chicken, the mouthparts were fully embedded in the skin with a layer of cement, forming an irregular cone, surrounding them. An intense localized reaction was evident, over one-half of the tick being engulfed in host tissue. Areas of edema, necrosis, leucocyte infiltration, cavitation, and vasodilation were noted around the mouthparts. The extent of the host response is discussed in terms of the host being 'unnatural'.

Great Island and Bauline: two new Kemerovo group orbiviruses from Ixodes uriae in eastern Canada.

Seven virus isolations from Ixodes Uriae collected during July 1971 from a puffin ( Fratercula arctica ) colony on Great Island, Newfoundland, Canada were identified by complement-fixation tests as belonging to the Kemerovo-Tribec complex of the Kemerovo serogroup of orbiviruses. Neutralization tests indicated that 2 new members of the complex were represented in the 7 isolates. These agents are designated Great Island virus (prototype strain CanAr 41) and Bauline virus (prototype strain CanAr 14). Both agents were inactivated by exposure to pH 3.0. CanAr 41 was resistant to sodium deoxycholate, ether, and chloroform, while CanAr 14 was susceptible to these solvents. No hemagglutinin was demonstrated for either virus using goose erythrocytes. Great Island virus kills suckling mice by intracerebral (ic) and intraperitoneal (ip) inoculation and weanling mice by ic but not ip routes; Bauline virus is fatal to suckling, but not weanling, mice inoculated ic and ip. Both viruses kill day-old chicks by ic and subcutaneous routes.

Tickborne viruses in western North America. I. Viruses isolated from Ixodes uriae in coastal Oregon in 1970.

Thirty-six viruses, comprising at least 4 distinct serological groups were recovered from 98 pools of nymphal and adult Ixodes uriae collected in 2 seabird nesting sites along the Oregon coast. Five isolates were indistinguishable from Tuleniy virus, a group B agent previously recognized in this locality and in eastern U.S.S.R. Five strains were of an undescribed virus in the Kemerovo group, 11 represented a virus indistinguishable from, or closely related to, Uukuniemi virus (Uukuniemi group) of Finland and Czechoslovakia, 10 were related to an ungrouped agent, Sakhalin virus, previously described from eastern U.S.S.R., and 5 isolates were of mixtures of the last 3 entities.

Isolation of a Group B arbovirus from Ixodes uriae collected on Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon.

Isolation of a Group B arbovirus from Ixodes uriae collected on Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon.

A contribution to the internal anatomy and histology of the bat tick Ornithodoros kelleyi Cooley and Kohls, 1941. I. The alimentary system, with notes on the food channel in Ornithodoros denmarki Kohls, Sonenshine, and Clifford, 1965.

The anatomy and histology of the alimentary system in the bat tick ORNITHODOROS KELLEYI Cooley and Kohls, 1941 is described in detail. The morphology of the mouthparts of the sea bird tick Ornithodoros denmarki Kohls, Sonenshine and Clifford, 1965 is considered for comparative purposes. This study constitutes the first comprehensive investigation of the anatomy and histology of a bat tick or of a species of the subgenus Alectorobius Pocock, 1907.

Studies on the ectoparasites of seals and penguins. III. The distribution of the tick Ixodes uriae White and the flea Parapsyllus magellanicus heardi de Meillon on Macquarie Island

On Macquarie I. it rains daily and abundantly; whether the habitat is flooded or not determines whether the tick Ixodes uriae and the flea Pavapsyllus magellanicus heardi can survive and breed. The principal hosts of these ectoparasites are penguins; the degree of infestation of the four species of penguins that breed on Macquarie I. differs because of differences in their breeding and moulting behaviour. Royal penguins, Eudyptes chrysolophus schlegeli, form large colonies which are surrounded by tussock, Poa foliosa. Rock stacks covered with vegetation may be within the colony. The drier conditions within the tussock and on the rock stacks are necessary for oviposition and egg development of I. uriae although larvae, nymphs, and adults can survive submersion in water for many weeks. Royal penguins are present in the colony from September to April, and consequently a blood meal is readily available close to the breeding area of the tick for half of the year. In these circumstances the life cycle of I. uriae can be completed within 2 yr. The other penguin species do not afford such favourable opportunities for population growth of I. uriae. Only the rockhopper penguin, Eudyptes chrysocome, nests in sheltered situations such as caves, or under overhanging rocks. In these drier nests the larval and adult flea, P. magellanicus heardi, can survive, and the larvae can overwinter.