Physiology and ecology of ticks

EVALUATION COVERS THE PERIOD 9/29/78 TO 9/29/79 AND IS BASED ON A SPECIAL EVALUATION BY AN AID/W REVIEW TEAM, AS WELL AS THE PROJECT MANAGER"S FIRST HAND EXPERIENCES. THE PROJECT IS BEING IMPLEMENTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR INSECT PHYSIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY (ICIPE). THE REVIEW TEAM DETERMINED THAT SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE PROJECT PURPOSE HAD BEEN MADE AND RECOMMENDED THIRD YEAR FUNDING. PROJECT-FINANCED PHYSIOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL STUDIES ARE BEING COORDINATED WITH ICIPE"S OWN IMMUNOLOGICAL STUDIES WITH A VIEW TO PRODUCING AN IMMUNE RESPONSE IN CATTLE WHICH COULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF FEEDING TICKS AND ARREST THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOSE WHICH REACH THE FEEDING STAGES. PROJECT EXPERIMENTS INCLUDE STUDIES OF THE RELATION BETWEEN INFESTATION AND PADDOCK SIZE; FACTORS IN CATTLE RESISTANCE TO TICK ATTACK; TICK SURVIVAL AS A FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, ETC.; AND THE EFFECT OF SEQUENTIAL FEEDING OF TICK STAGES ON EXPOSED CATTLE. PHYSIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTS INCLUDE EVALUATION OF CERTAIN INSECT HORMONES AS TICK CONTROL AGENTS AND INVESTIGATION OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF TICK HORMONES TO TICK GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT, REPRODUCTION, AND CLUSTERING AND MATING BEHAVIOR. THE REVIEW TEAM RECOMMENDS THAT A PROPOSAL TO EXPAND ICIPE"S IMMUNOLOGICAL STUDIES BE GIVEN CONSIDERATION BY AID. AN IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED FROM THE PROJECT IS THAT PROJECT MANAGEMENT CAN ENTER INTO COLLABORATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY INTERACTIONS WITH SCIENTISTS FROM OTHER INSTITUTIONS. THE PROJECT ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO ICIPE"S INSTITUTION BUILDING PROCESS. THE SPECIAL EVALUATION (PD-AAG-227-C1) IS ATTACHED.