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5 May 2017 Ticks and radio-frequency signals: behavioural response of ticks (Dermacentorreticulatus) in a 900 MHz electromagnetic field
Blažena Vargová, Juraj Kurimský, Roman Cimbala, Michal Kosterec, Igor Majláth, Natália Pipová, Piotr Tryjanowski, Łukasz Jankowiak, Viktória Majláthová
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Abstract

The electromagnetic field (EMF) is present in the environment throughout the world and encompasses both natural and human-made sources of electromagnetic fields. It has been shown that EMF influences a variety of biological systems, including the behavioural responses of both vertebrates and invertebrates. As such, determining the effects of the EMF on the ecosystem in detail may be important for understanding the ecology and biology of organisms, particularly those, such as ticks, that are important in disease transmission. Our main goal was to determine if the tick, Dermacentor reticulatus, interacts with the EMF. An experimental behavioural test of tick sensitivity to radio frequency power radiation was performed under laboratory conditions. Tests were performed in an electromagnetic compatibility laboratory in a radio frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) anechoic chamber. Ticks were irradiated using a Double-Ridged Waveguide Horn Antenna with 900 MHz RF-EMF. The applied radio-frequency power was tuned below the proposed limit for public exposure to mobile phone base stations. We found that exposure induces an immediate tick locomotor response manifested either in a previously unreported jerking movement of the whole body or in jerking of the first pair of legs. Overall, ticks exhibited significantly greater movement in the presence of the RF-EMF. Significant sex differences relative to RF-EMF exposure were observed in both response variables. In the presence of RF-EMF, body jerking by females was greater than in males and vice versa for leg jerks. This study represents the first experimental evidence of a behavioural response of D. reticulatus ticks to exposure to RF-EMF.

© Systematic & Applied Acarology Society
Blažena Vargová, Juraj Kurimský, Roman Cimbala, Michal Kosterec, Igor Majláth, Natália Pipová, Piotr Tryjanowski, Łukasz Jankowiak, and Viktória Majláthová "Ticks and radio-frequency signals: behavioural response of ticks (Dermacentorreticulatus) in a 900 MHz electromagnetic field," Systematic and Applied Acarology 22(5), 683-693, (5 May 2017). https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.22.5.7
Received: 14 January 2017; Accepted: 1 April 2017; Published: 5 May 2017
KEYWORDS
Behavioural response
Dermacentor reticulatus
jerks
radio—frequency signals
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