Mr. Kouno Keita, a second-year master’s student in the Laboratory of Professor Sato Toshiyuki, Department of Agriculture, Graduate School of Agriculture at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, received the Best Presentation Award at the 34th Annual Conference of the Acarological Society of Japan, held on September 28, 2025.

Congratulations, Kouno san!

● Presentation Title:
Host specificity affects tick responses to host odors?

● Presentation Summary:
The host specificity of ticks is highly diverse, ranging from those that parasitize specific animals to those that parasitize various animals across taxonomic groups.
So, how do ticks recognize and select their preferred hosts?
Ticks perceive animal odors with sensory organs on their legs.
This study hypothesized that ticks recognize and select their preferred hosts based on odor, and compared the responses to animal odors among tick species with different host specificities.
The results suggest that ticks with higher host specificity to a particular animal have a stronger preference for the odor of that animal.

● Award:
Best Presentation Award (BPA)

● Award Date:
September 28, 2025

●Conference name:
The 34th Annual Conference of the Acarological Society of Japan
https://taikai.acarology-japan.org/34-2025/ja/　（Conference page）
https://taikai.acarology-japan.org/34-2025/ja/bpa/　（Award page）

■TUAT News
https://www.tuat.ac.jp/NEWS/activity/20251003_04.html