Undergraduate Honors Theses
Date of Award
5-2023
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Degree Name
BS
Department
Biomedical Sciences
Faculty Mentor
Meghan E. Hermance
Advisor(s)
Terrence J. Ravine and Gabriela Gorelik
Abstract
Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks are invasive to the United States with potential to transmit several tick-borne pathogens that are native to the United States. Based on existing locations of H. longicornis in its native regions in Asia, as well as its invasive populations that are established in the United States, several geographic range prediction models have been produced to help understand future range expansion and distribution of this invasive tick in North America. Unfortunately, these models do not all agree and there is uncertainty associated with the potential geographic range expansion of H. longicornis ticks in North America. Climate can affect tick populations by impacting where they spread geographically, and whether they will survive and reproduce. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that the microbial communities within ticks (a.k.a the tick microbiome) can impact tick fitness and pathogen acquisition/transmission. Therefore, it is important to understand the impact of various temperatures on the microbial communities within H. longicornis ticks. The objective of my work is to characterize how temperature affects the microbial diversity and composition within H. longicornis.
Recommended Citation
Mitchell, Brianna L., "Effect of Temperature on the Microbiome of a Laboratory-Reared Colony of Haemaphysalis longicornis Ticks" (2023). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 34.
https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/honors_college_theses/34
Brianna Mitchell Project Poster
Included in
Animals Commons, Bacteria Commons, Entomology Commons, Medical Sciences Commons, Microbial Physiology Commons, Other Animal Sciences Commons, Other Microbiology Commons, Parasitic Diseases Commons, Population Biology Commons, Public Health Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons