Human fine body hair enhances ectoparasite detection

Dean, Isabelle; Siva‐Jothy, Michael T.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0987

Cited by 33 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Pagel & Bodmer note that when humans are infested, ectoparasites are usually primarily confined to hairy regions such as the head and pubic area, perhaps because ectoparasites avoid hairless areas, or because hairless areas are more easily groomed and washed [89]. Of course, humans are not strictly hairless, having retained fine body-hairs rather that losing them altogether, and one account argues that fine hairs were themselves retained as ectoparasite detection devices [91]. In support of this hypothesis, subjects more rapidly detected the presence of insects on fine-haired skin than on truly hairless shaved skin [91].…”

Section: Human Hairlessness and Ectoparasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of course, humans are not strictly hairless, having retained fine body-hairs rather that losing them altogether, and one account argues that fine hairs were themselves retained as ectoparasite detection devices [91]. In support of this hypothesis, subjects more rapidly detected the presence of insects on fine-haired skin than on truly hairless shaved skin [91].…”

Section: Human Hairlessness and Ectoparasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ectoparasite defence in humans: relationships to pathogen avoidance and clinical implications

Kupfer

Fessler

2018

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Currently, disgust is regarded as the main adaptation for defence against pathogens and parasites in humans. Disgust's motivational and behavioural features, including withdrawal, nausea, appetite suppression and the urge to vomit, defend effectively against ingesting or touching sources of pathogens. However, ectoparasites do not attack their hosts via ingestion, but rather actively attach themselves to the body surface. Accordingly, by itself, disgust offers limited defence against ectoparasites. We propose that, like non-human animals, humans have a distinct ectoparasite defence system that includes cutaneous sensory mechanisms, itch-generation mechanisms and grooming behaviours. The existence of adaptations for ectoparasite defence is supported by abundant evidence from non-human animals, as well as more recent evidence concerning human responses to ectoparasite cues. Several clinical disorders may be dysfunctions of the ectoparasite defence system, including some that are pathologies of grooming, such as skin picking and trichotillomania, and others, such as delusory parasitosis and trypophobia, which are pathologies of ectoparasite detection. We conclude that future research should explore both distinctions between, and overlap across, ectoparasite defence systems and pathogen avoidance systems, as doing so will not only illuminate proximate motivational systems, including disgust, but may also reveal important clinical and social consequences.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours'.

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Section: Human Hairlessness and Ectoparasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Human Hairlessness and Ectoparasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ectoparasite defence in humans: relationships to pathogen avoidance and clinical implications

Kupfer

Fessler

2018

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…Dense spacing of hairs is also important for a number of protective, reflective and insulating functions. For example, bed bugs spend longer searching for an appropriate bite location on hairier human arms [ 147 ] and dense plant trichomes occur on leaves for defence against herbivores (reviewed in [ 148 ]). Dense trichomes have additional roles in light reflection and reduction of water loss (reviewed in [ 149 ]) and may act as a sunscreen absorbing UV-B radiation [ 150 – 155 ].…”

Section: Spacing Of Hairs In Arraysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design principles of hair-like structures as biological machines

Seale

Cummins

Viola

et al. 2018

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Hair-like structures are prevalent throughout biology and frequently act to sense or alter interactions with an organism's environment. The overall shape of a hair is simple: a long, filamentous object that protrudes from the surface of an organism. This basic design, however, can confer a wide range of functions, owing largely to the flexibility and large surface area that it usually possesses. From this simple structural basis, small changes in geometry, such as diameter, curvature and inter-hair spacing, can have considerable effects on mechanical properties, allowing functions such as mechanosensing, attachment, movement and protection. Here, we explore how passive features of hair-like structures, both individually and within arrays, enable diverse functions across biology. Understanding the relationships between form and function can provide biologists with an appreciation for the constraints and possibilities on hair-like structures. Additionally, such structures have already been used in biomimetic engineering with applications in sensing, water capture and adhesion. By examining hairs as a functional mechanical unit, geometry and arrangement can be rationally designed to generate new engineering devices and ideas.

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“…The significance of host pelage related to ectoparasites has been controversially discussed. For bed bugs, which prefer hairless sites, the layer of fine hair covering the human body at a relatively high follicular density increased search time and enhanced the detection of parasites (Reinhardt and Siva-Jothy, 2007;Dean and Siva-Jothy, 2012). In contrast, hairs have been supposed to offer hiding place and habitat for ticks.…”

Section: The Tick-skin Interfacementioning

confidence: 99%

Functional morphology of tarsal adhesive pads and attachment ability in ticksIxodes ricinus(Arachnida, Acari, Ixodidae)

Voigt

Gorb

2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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The presence of well-developed, elastic claws on ticks and widely pilose hosts led us to hypothesise that ticks are mostly adapted to attachment and locomotion on rough, strongly corrugated and hairy, felt-like substrates. However, by using a combination of morphological and experimental approaches, we visualised the ultrastructure of attachment devices of Ixodes ricinus and showed that this species adheres more strongly to smooth surfaces than to rough ones. Between paired, elongated, curved, elastic claws, I. ricinus bears a large, flexible, foldable adhesive pad, which represents an adaptation to adhesion on smooth surfaces. Accordingly, ticks attached strongest to glass and to surface profiles similar to those of the human skin, generating safety factors (attachment force relative to body weight) up to 534 (females). Considerably lower attachment force was found on silicone substrates and as a result of thanatosis after jolting.

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Human fine body hair enhances ectoparasite detection

Cited by 33 publications

References 26 publications

Ectoparasite defence in humans: relationships to pathogen avoidance and clinical implications

Ectoparasite defence in humans: relationships to pathogen avoidance and clinical implications

Design principles of hair-like structures as biological machines

Functional morphology of tarsal adhesive pads and attachment ability in ticksIxodes ricinus(Arachnida, Acari, Ixodidae)

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