title: Ambush behavior of the tick Amblyomma sculptum (Amblyomma cajennense complex) (Acari: Ixodidae) in the Brazilian Pantanal.
abstract: We herein describe the ambush behavior of Amblyomma sculptum (Berlese 1888), a widespread and epidemiologically important tick in Brazil. Along two years of sampling by visual search in the Brazilian Pantanal, A. sculptum ticks were observed on the vegetation and in the leaf litter. Most of the ticks were observed between 10 and 50cm above ground level and less than five percent of the total were positioned below 10cm, indicating that they are seeking for middle or large-sized hosts. In both seasons, vapor saturation deficit was low during the morning. No significant relationship was found between questing ticks and daytime interval of observation or saturation deficit. However, questing tick numbers seem be higher in the end of the morning, when saturation deficit reaches its peak. Behavioral patterns of A. sculptum ticks observed in Pantanal underscore the occurrence of this tick and human contact at green anthropogenic sites. Considering A. sculptum questing behavior, inferences on human behavioral patterns that enhance or avoid contact with ticks are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ixodologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia,Av. Pará, 1720/Campus Umuarama-Bloco 2T, CEP 38400-902, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address: vanessaramos@scientist.com.
authors.forename: Vanessa do Nascimento
authors.initials: VDN
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ixodologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia,Av. Pará, 1720/Campus Umuarama-Bloco 2T, CEP 38400-902, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address: osava_carol@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Carolina Fonseca
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Osava
authors.affiliation: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária - Embrapa Pantanal, Rua 21 de Setembro, n° 1.880, Bairro Nossa Senhora de Fátima, Caixa postal 109, CEP 79320-900, Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Electronic address: ubiratan.piovezan@cpap.embrapa.br.
authors.forename: Ubiratan
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Piovezan
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ixodologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia,Av. Pará, 1720/Campus Umuarama-Bloco 2T, CEP 38400-902, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address: szabo.famev@ufu.br.
authors.forename: Matias Pablo Juan
authors.initials: MPJ
authors.lastname: Szabó
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D001938:Brazil; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D012621:Seasons
keywords: Host-seeking; Questing height; Saturation deficit; Tick-bite risk