Effect of heavy metals accumulation on locomotor activity of Ixodid ticks

Abstract

Our research aimed to study the ability of ixodid ticks to accumulate heavy metals in their bodies within a large industrial city. We used 2128 units of adult hungry ixodid ticks and 10 units of vegetation samples, collected from March 2018 to September 2020 in Zaporizhzhia (large industrial city, southeastern Ukraine). The samples were examined for the content of Cd, Pb, and Ca by the spectrometer with inductively coupled plasma series ICP-OES (Shimadzu). We also used the method of determining the locomotor activity for ticks’ behavior study. Our results demonstrated that the concentration of toxic elements in the ticks enlarges along with the content of these elements in the ground litter (r = 0.98). Analyzed the calcium content in the body of ixodid ticks, we clustered them in two groups according to the element susceptibility. Two–way analysis of variances regards cadmium and calcium accumulation in the body of Ixodid ticks proved the dependence of calcium content in ticks on the habitat degree of cadmium accumulation (P = 44.90, 0.0001, ANOVA). We suggested that the high industrialization level of industrial cities directly affect the ecology of Ixodid ticks, which, in turn, could cause the susceptibility of ticks to the pathogens.