Natural attachment duration of adult female ticks Ixodes uriae (Acari : Ixodidae) on free-living adult black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla

An investigation into the attachment duration of the tick Ixodes uriae on f ree-living adult black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla was carried out a t a colony in southeast Scotland. Adult kittiwakes (n = 14) were caught and searched for ticks. Newly attached ticks (n = 31) were marked as was the b ird before its release. These birds were recaptured at intervals of two to seven days and the presence or absence of the tick was recorded. The median attachment duration was estimated as 7.7 days (SE = 0.38) and estimated ti mes for 5% and 95% of ticks to become detached were 5.22 days (SE = 0.67) a nd 9.51 days (SE = 0.58) respectively. Information on tick attachment durat ion is essential for the development of accurate models of tick population dynamics and patterns of disease transmission.