Water Balance in the Tick Ornithodoros Moubata Murray, with Particular Reference to the Influence of Carbon Dioxide on the Uptake and Loss of Water
Open Access
- 1 September 1954
- journal article
- Published by The Company of Biologists in Journal of Experimental Biology
- Vol. 31 (3), 331-340
- https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.31.3.331
Abstract
1. A study has been made of the exchanges of water between the atmosphere and the tick Ornithodoros moubata. 2. Unfed nymphs are able to abstract water from moist air (95% R.H.) and to restrict their rate of water loss in dry air. 3. This ability is lost (a) in atmospheres containing 30-45% CO2; (b) in atmospheres containing more than 90% N2 (c) immediately after the tick is fed; (d) gradually after the tick has been starved for some five months. 4. It has been shown that the effect of high (30-45%) concentrations of CO2 is mainly upon the activity of the epidermal cells, possibly mediated through the central nervous system. The concentration required to cause opening of the spiracles is only about 5%.This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- On the Structure of the spiracle of the tick, Ornithodoros moubata MurrayParasitology, 1954
- Transpiration and the Structure of the Epicuticle in TicksJournal of Experimental Biology, 1947
- The water balance inIxodes ricinusL. and certain other species of ticksParasitology, 1946
- The Structure and Function of the Spiracles of the Tick, Ornithodoros moubata MurrayParasitology, 1935