Analyis of the gopher tortoise tick and its distribution in southeastern Florida

Background/Question/Methods:

Ticks are primarily, known to be an obligated external parasite on vertebrate hosts, which suggests that their distribution is restricted by the specific habitat requirements of the host organism. They not only damage the skin of the host organism during feeding but can also transmit disease-causing pathogens to the organism which could lead to secondary infection of the host and in worst cases lead to fatality of the organism as well. One species of interest is Amblyomma tuberculatum (A. tuberculatum), the gopher tortoise tick. A. tuberculatum is a tick that is known to feed on reptiles and its primary host or primary source of nutrition is known to be the gopher tortoise or Gopherus polyphemus(G. polyphemus). Current literature on A. tuberculatum distribution shows high overlap of the distribution of the tick and the tortoise, but up-to-date studies have shown that the larval stage may feed on other hosts, suggesting the distribution might not show a high overlap.  To expand our limited knowledge on the gopher tortoise tick, we conducted transect surveys and employed point capture techniques at the Conservation Area at Florida Atlantic University.

Results/Conclusions:

To date, all captured ticks in the FAU conservation area have been identified as Amblyomma tuberculatum through the use of physical characteristics and a pictorial identification key. Our preliminary survey from August to September of 2012 suggest that G. polyphemus at FAU have a high tick burden suggesting that tortoises are prone to secondary infection, transmission of pathogens, and significant blood loss. To date, more than 80% of captured ticks were extracted from tortoises inhabiting areas with shrub cover and very few ticks were extracted from tortoises in grasslands and none in oak canopy. Additionally, we have found that all three stages of A. tuberculatum feed on the reptile and found larvae questing around shrub and grassland areas. In the future, we plan to screen the ticks for specific pathogens such as Rickettsia and assess the implications of A. tuberculatum.