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Factors associated with the increased usage of electronic devices, wireless technologies and mobile phones nowadays are present in increasing amounts in our environment. All living organisms are constantly affected by electromagnetic radiation which causes serious environmental pollution. The distribution and density of ticks in natural habitats is influenced by a complex of abiotic and biotic factors. Exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) constitutes a potential cause altering the presence and distribution of ticks in the environment. Our main objective was to determine the affinity of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks towards RF-EMF exposure. Originally designed and constructed radiation-shielded tube (RST) test was used to test the affinity of ticks under controlled laboratory conditions. All test were performed in an electromagnetic compatibility laboratory in an anechoic chamber. Ticks were irradiated using a Double-Ridged Waveguide Horn Antenna to RF-EMF at 900 and 5000 MHz, 0 MHz was used as control. The RF-EMF exposure to 900 MHz induced a higher concentration of ticks on irradiated arm of RST as opposed to the RF-EMF at 5000 MHz, which caused an escape of ticks to the shielded arm. This study represents the first experimental evidence of RF-EMF preference in D. reticulatus. The projection of obtained results to the natural environment could help assess the risk of tick borne diseases and could be a tool of preventive medicine.

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The electromagnetic field (EMF) is present in the environment throughout the world and encompasses both natural and human-made sources of electromagnetic fields. It has been shown that EMF influences a variety of biological systems, including the behavioural responses of both vertebrates and invertebrates. As such, determining the effects of the EMF on the ecosystem in detail may be important for understanding the ecology and biology of organisms, particularly those, such as ticks, that are important in disease transmission. Our main goal was to determine if the tick, Dermacentor reticulatus, interacts with the EMF. An experimental behavioural test of tick sensitivity to radio frequency power radiation was performed under laboratory conditions. Tests were performed in an electromagnetic compatibility laboratory in a radio frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) anechoic chamber. Ticks were irradiated using a Double-Ridged Waveguide Horn Antenna with 900 MHz RF-EMF. The applied radio-frequency power was tuned below the proposed limit for public exposure to mobile phone base stations. We found that exposure induces an immediate tick locomotor response manifested either in a previously unreported jerking movement of the whole body or in jerking of the first pair of legs. Overall, ticks exhibited significantly greater movement in the presence of the RF-EMF. Significant sex differences relative to RF-EMF exposure were observed in both response variables. In the presence of RF-EMF, body jerking by females was greater than in males and vice versa for leg jerks. This study represents the first experimental evidence of a behavioural response of D. reticulatus ticks to exposure to RF-EMF.

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No abstract

Mobile telecommunications technologies have become an indispensable part of people’s lives of all ages around the world. They affect personal life and social interactions and are a work tool in the work routine. Network availability requirements and the quality of the Internet connection are constantly increasing, to which telecommunications providers are responding. Humans and wildlife live in the permanent presence of electromagnetic radiation with just a minor knowledge of the impact this radiation has. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of a 900 MHz electromagnetic field (EMF) on the locomotor behavior of female Ixodes ricinus ticks under laboratory conditions. Experiments were performed in the radiation-shielded tube (RST) test and radiation-shielded circular open-field arena placed in an anechoic chamber. Altogether, 480 female I. ricinus ticks were tested. In the RST arena, no differences in preference for irradiated and shielded parts of experimental modules were observed; in the open-field arena, the time spent and the trajectory passed was significantly longer in the part exposed to the EMF.

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