Tick Investigation
Aim
To describe the niche of a tick by;
· Studying it anatomically
· Describing it’s lifestyle
· Describing it’s life cycle
· Explaining how it has adapted
· And what diseases it carries and spreads
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An introduction to ticks
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The tick is not an insect but is part of the arachnid family.
Ticks are divided into two main families, soft ticks (Argasidae) and
hard ticks (Ixodidae). The scientific name of the tick that I am
studying is Ixodes Canisuga, it has a sclerotizeddorsal plate
(scutum), an oval or pair shaped outline, and their mouthparts are
visible from the dorsal view.
Habitat
The ticks habitat must satisfy two essential requirements for tick
survival.
1. The environment must have a sufficiently humid environment for the
ticks to maintain water balance.
2. A mix of animal species to act as hosts for each stage of tick
development (explained in the life cycle section).
Ticks are also vulnerable to desiccation during periods in between
hosting (questing), and the development phase.
During questing and developing, ticks can get their water from
ingesting hydroscopic liquid. This enables ticks to maintain a stable
water balance as long as humidity in their microclimate doesn’t fall
below 80%.
Therefore ticks can only survive in the questing areas where a good
cover of vegetation and a matt of decaying matter is available. This
is why ticks are commonly found in fields and grassy areas when it has
rained recently. Ironically although ticks need an extremely high
water percentage to survive, they cannot sur...
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...n the
feeding process.
Adaptations
As mentioned before, the hyposome anchors the tick to the host, and
the chelicerae help to keep the blood flowing, but ticks also have
anticoagulant in their saliva glands. This stops the blood clotting
making it easy for the blood to flow. The tick also has elasticized
skin so that it can expand whilst feeding on blood.
The diseases that ticks carry
Ticks carry the disease Borrelia, also known as lyme disease. This
disease causes relapsing fevers. This disease is passed on because the
bacterium migrates from the gut to the salivary glands. So when the
mite feeds, the saliva containing the bacterium is passed through to
the host.
They also carry encephalitis, a viral infection which is less common,
but deadly. Encephalitis causes inflammation of the brain.
In “Star-nosed Mole,” author Sean Zera writes an interesting article about the Star-nosed Mole. His article’s purpose is to inform readers many intriguing facts about the Star-nosed Mole. Some questions Zera answers in his article are what do they look like, where do they live, what do they eat, and even how do they communicate with each other. His article is great because he explains almost everything about the Star-nosed Mole. Another thing Zera does that strengthens his article is he has categories that will ask a common question and then under that category he answer that question and supply an abundance of facts that help support his answer. The only two things that weakens his article is the lack of pictures and a comparison to a regular
The narrative structure in Plague of Doves is complex to the same degree that it’s
Disease and parasitism play a pervasive role in all life. Many of these diseases start with microparasites, which are characterized by their ability to reproduce directly within an individual host. They are also characterized by their small size, short duration of infection, and the production of an immune response in infected and recovered individuals. Microparasites which damage hosts in the course of their association are recognized as pathogens. The level of the interaction and the extent of the resultant damage depends on both the virulence of the pathogen, as well as the host defenses. If the pathogen can overcome the host defenses, the host will be damaged and may not survive. If on the other hand the host defenses overcome the pathogen, the microparasite may fail to establish itself within the host and die.
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Head lice live in furniture and towels so it is advisable to spray furniture after purchase to prevent the spread. For the case of beddings , towel and other clothing’s, you should soak and clean them in hot water then dry heat them in a drier .Seal them in plastic bags for two weeks to prevent further
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The narrator in The Flea is a youthful man trying to convince a young woman to give her virginity to him. He tries to do this by comparing their relationship to a flea that is in the room. The flea bites them both and Donne explains to her that this is symbolic of both of their worlds combining into one. He says that the flea is now the realm of love, lust, and marriage. At first this poem seems to be just about love, commitment from a male to a female, who says no his lustful desires. However, a deeper look than just the superficial reveals that the male in this poem is actually revealing a valid point to his lady: that the loss of innocence, such as her virginity, does not constitute a loss of her honor.
one in which the host animal can live for a long enough time for the parasite to
Forensic entomology is the study of insects and arthropods and their relation to a criminal investigation. Forensic entomology can determine the postmortem interval (PMI) or how long since the descendants’ death, whether the body has been moved since expiring, and what injuries may have been sustained (Ryan, 2011). When decomposition begins, insects establish a colony to lay eggs on the remains; these eggs will hatch into larvae that will eat the human organs and tissues. Forensic entomologists can determine the specific insects present in the body and estimate how long a body has been left exposed by examining the stage of development of the fly larvae; however, these findings are not always plausible. The fly larvae look and act different at each stage of development. The time required for stage development is not only affected by environmental influences such as geographical location, climate, and weather conditions, but also by type of insect. The forensic entomologist must consider these conditions when estimating the postmortem interval. Knowledge of insects, their life cycles, and their habits make entomological evidence a priceless tool for an investigation. Forensic entomology has proved its significance in a number of cases; though circumstances such as weather, temperature, and time of year clearly affect the development of insect infestation, and the expert must keep these in the forefront of his/her mind (Innes, 2000).
There are nearly one million species of insects known. Insects are defined by having six legs and a body divided into three segments: head, thorax, and abdomen. Chitin is an organic material that makes up an insects exoskeleton. There are three life cycles of insects, ametabolous or incomplete and paurometabolous or gradual, and homotabolous or complete metamorphosis. These life cycles are important in the aging of insects for aiding in legal investigations, (Houck and Siegel. Entomology).
In this present paper I will explain a basic knowledge of the application of Forensic Entomology to death investigations and the basic understanding of the methods for the collection and procedures at a crime scene investigation. For crime scene investigators a general knowledge of the appearance of insects with forensic importance is helpful to the investigator. Forensic entomology is the use of insect evidence found in crime scenes for legal investigations. Forensic entomologists assist homicide investigations by estimating the time of death using information on the biology and ecology of insects. Insects play an important role in the natural decomposition process of decaying flesh and, therefore, are inherently attracted to a decomposing