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Journal of Experimental Biology 31,331-340 (1954)
Published by Company of Biologists 1954

Water Balance in the Tick Ornithodoros Moubata Murray, with Particular Reference to the Influence of Carbon Dioxide on the Uptake and Loss of Water

T. O. BROWNING ¹

¹ Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge

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%.

Note:

Nuffield Foundation Dominion Travelling Fellow in Natural Science. On leave from the Waite Agricultural Research Institute, University of Adelaide.