Superficial infections caused by Microsporum canis in humans and animals

Dermatophytic infections caused by M. canis in humans and animals have a world wide distribution and they are zoonotic. The objective in this work was to know the frequency of M. canis infections in humans and pets. We studied our cases from January 1994 to December 2002. The human samples were obtained from a Dermatological Department in a General Hospital and we registered the next data: age, sex, job, and affected area. The animal samples were obtained from a mycological veterinary laboratory, and we registered the presence or absence of clinical lesions. A total of 46 clinical cases of M. canis infections were recorded, 26 female and 20 males: tinea capitis 21, tinea corporis 17, tinea pedis five, onychomycosis two, and only one case with tinea faciei. The 46 cases with positive culture yield 42 positive samples in KOH. The age range varied from 2 to 60 years. Among the animals, we studied 461 dogs and found six KOH positive (1%) samples and cultured 23 isolates (4.98%): 21 M. canis, one M. gypseum and one Trichophyton spp. From the 68 samples of cats, eight (11.76%) were positive to KOH, being 26 (38.23%) M. canis isolates. In M. canis infections in humans, the age rage was wide with predominance in women. In animals, M. canis isolates represented the most dermatophytic infection.     

Recrudescence of Entopolypoides macaci Mayer, 1933 (Babesiidae) infection secondary to stress in long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis)

Parasites were found in red blood cells of two long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) imported from Indonesia and housed in the Washington Regional Primate Research Center breeding colony for 7 years or longer. Both macaques developed parasitemias secondary to stress (type D retrovirus in one case and severe trauma in the other). Entopolypoides macaci (Babesiidae) was diagnosed on the basis of morphology from peripheral blood smears stained with Wright's stain. Antibodies against Babesia sp. were detected by immunofluorescence assay (IFA) from one infected macaque, which showed antibody cross-reactions (high titer) to B. bigemina, B. bovis, B. canis, and (low titers) to Plasmodium falciparum. Five feral long-tailed macaques that had been imported recently from the same country had no detectable antibodies. This is the first report of IFA as an aid to diagnose E. macaci in nonhuman primates.     

Long-term trends in the population size and breeding success of emperor penguins at the Taylor Glacier colony, Antarctica

The population size of emperor penguins at the land-based Taylor Glacier colony was monitored over 54 years from 1957 to 2010 by intermittent ground counts from 1957 to 1975 and annual photographic counts from 1988 to 2010 of males attending the colony in winter and chicks in early summer. The breeding population in the early years averaged 3,684 ± 492 pairs compared with 2,927 ± 320 pairs from 1988–2010, a reduction of 20.5 %. The exact timing and magnitude of the change is unknown because there was a 13-year gap between the end of the historical counts and start of the contemporary counts. From 1954 to 2010 no real or inferred warming event that may have been linked to the decrease was evident at Australia’s Mawson station, 95 km from Taylor Glacier colony. From 1988 to 2010, variation in breeding population size and breeding success were not related to variation in the distance between the colony and open water. In this period, the number of pairs breeding fluctuated annually and overall showed signs of a gradual decrease. The Taylor Glacier colony is one of only three emperor penguin colonies where populations have been monitored in winter over the long term. Given the threat of climate warming to the future of this ice-dependent species it is imperative that the annual monitoring programme at Taylor Glacier continues well into the future.     

宠物猫致夫妻共患犬小孢子菌体癣

报道由犬小孢子菌引起的人畜共患体癣2例,二者系夫妻,家中饲养宠物猫。因多发环状红斑2周就诊。取患者及猫的皮屑真菌镜检及培养,鉴定为须癣毛癣菌,经口服及外用抗真菌药物后治愈。     

浙江韭山列岛的黑嘴端凤头燕鸥繁殖群调查初报

2004年7月28日～8月2日,在考察浙江象山韭山列岛省级海洋生态自然保护区时,发现了正处于繁殖中期的黑嘴端凤头燕鸥(Sterna bernsteini)的群体混群于大凤头燕鸥(S．bergii)的繁殖群中。据估测,大凤头燕鸥的种群数量为3500～4500只,黑嘴端凤头燕鸥的种群数量为10～20只。这是目前继2000年马祖群岛发现黑嘴端凤头燕鸥繁殖群之后的第2个繁殖群体。     

Satellite remote sensing in monitoring change of seabirds: use of Spot Image in king penguin population increase at Ile aux Cochons,Crozet Archipelago

The king penguin colony at Ile aux Cochons, Crozet Archipelago (southern Indian Ocean) is the largest in the world. The change in its surface area was investigated by means of satellite remote sensing using spot scene. The satellite picture enabled us to locate the colony and to determine that the surface area occupied by the colony has increased by 56% between 1962 and 1988. The increase in the surface area occupied by the colony was confirmed by a map realised in 1982 (by the Institut Géographique National). The high resolution system available on the spot system which allows at present at 10 m ground resolution, and 5 m in the near future, can thus be a useful tool for monitoring medium to long-term changes in marine bird populations breeding in colonies composed of birds spaced a constant distance from one another. Based on the surface area occupied by the colony and the published data on the population size on Possession Island, as well as information on the breeding frequency of the species, we estimated that the total breeding population is about 1,000,000 pairs for the whole archipelago and that about 70% of birds breed at Ile aux Cochons.     

Colony-Site Selection Drives Management Priorities for Yelkouan Shearwater Populations

Abstract: We tested whether colony-site availability could allow for an increase in the unusually small breeding populations of yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) on the islands of the Port-Cros National Park (France) if feral cat eradication were undertaken. Comparisons between colony and noncolony sites indicated yelkouan shearwaters preferred deep-soiled and low-outcrop-covered coastal sites. A substrate cover, light avoidance, and sea proximity model suggested that 17.5% of unoccupied sites are suitable for colony establishment. The low proportion of suitable sites currently used by yelkouan shearwaters suggests that these colonies could be refuges and that feral cat eradication will probably lead to a breeding population increase.     

Temporal and spatial variation in dispersal in the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus)

We studied movements of individually marked greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus) born in the Camargue, southern France, between their two most important breeding colonies in the western Mediterranean (Camargue and Fuente de Piedra, Spain) from 1986 to 1992. The two sites differ in the frequency with which they offer suitable conditions for breeding. Flamingos have bred each year in the Camargue since 1974, but in only 12 of the past 22 years at Fuente de Piedra. Higher colony fidelity is thus expected in the less variable environment (Camargue), but if dispersal occurs competition might be an important factor causing this dispersal. Following years during which breeding birds in the Camrgue were disturbed (1988 and 1990) a higher proportion of adults changed colonies between breeding attempts (= breeding dispersal, 12.4%), while only 0.4% of flamingos breeding in the Camargue dispersed in the other years. As expected, flamingos breeding at Fuente de Piedra showed a higher rate of breeding dispersal (8.14%). No differences were observed between males and females. The importance of breeding failure as a factor causing breeding dispersal in flamingos was also confirmed by the movements of individual birds. The proportion of young flamingos that moved from their natal colony to start breeding at Fuente de Piedra (= natal dispersal) was independent of sex and age, but increased when breeding access to the Camargue colony was more difficult. However, natal dispersal was also higher in 1988 and 1990 (40.5%) than in the remaining years (1.2%), as was breeding dispersal. We discuss possible ways in which the increased natal dispersal among inexperienced birds could be linked with the increased breeding dispersal of adults in the same year.     

FACTORS AFFECTING THE AGE OF FIRST BREEDING OF THE KITTIWAKE RISSA TRIDACTYLA

At a Kittiwake colony in Northumberland, 80% of those birds which returned to their natal colony to breed were males and these supplied 52% of all male recruits. More females breed away from their natal colony than males. There was no differences in the proportions of young fledged from sites in the centre or at the edge of the colony, or by parents of different experience, which returned to breed. Kittiwakes breed for the first time at ages from 3 to 8 years, but most at 4 or S years old. Males arrive back at the colony at an earlier age than females and breed for the first time one year earlier. Males obtaining sites at the centre of the colony first breed at an earlier age than those at the edges. Neither the age nor the area of first breeding appear to be transmitted from parent to offspring. Males breeding first aged 4 years or younger produced more young than those which first bred aged 5 years or older, despite their partners laying smaller clutches. This difference was most marked among those males recruited to sites in the centre of the colony. The advantage of this earlier breeding is counteracted by a lower survival rate among those males which start to breed at the younger ages. In all breeding Kittiwakes, annual reproductive output increases with experience while annual survival rates decrease. Once they had started to breed, many birds failed to breed in one subsequent season. Nearly 60% of these cases of intermittent breeding occurred in the year following first breeding. Intermittent breeding was most frequent among young birds and among females. It is suggested that each breeding involves a cost to the individual in terms of reduced survival, and that deferred and intermittent breeding are means of guarding survival. A model is proposed whereby the age at which a bird starts to breed, the nesting site which it obtains, and its subsequent breeding strategy result in each individual producing an optimal number of reproducing offspring in its lifetime, relative to its quality.     

Predation by cats could lead to the extinction of the Mediterranean endemic Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan at a major breeding site

Feral cats are considered to be one of the main harmful invasive species for island species. Adult shearwaters are highly vulnerable to predation by cats. The population of the Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan, a species endemic to the Mediterranean, is predicted to decline, leaving only a few large breeding colonies, due to the invasion of cats. The impact of cats on the Shearwater population of Le Levant Island, one of the major breeding sites for this species, was evaluated by studying cat diet over a 2‐year period. The predation rate obtained was then included in a Shearwater demographic model. Cats preyed upon rabbits, rats and Shearwaters, with a peak of predation on Shearwaters immediately upon their arrival at the colony. Cat predation was heavy and responsible for the yearly death of about 810–3241 birds. This could lead to the extinction of the Le Levant colony within the next four decades and perhaps within just a few years. Cat predation on prospecting individuals, a parameter essential to assess the real impact of predation, may not have an immediate effect on the Shearwater breeding population but can accelerate population extinction. Cat predation must be reduced or removed to prevent the extinction of one of the most important breeding sites for this species.     

The incidence of the tick parasite Ixodes uriae in Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla colonies in relation to the age of the colony, and a mechanism of infecting new colonies

Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla (683 chicks and 64 adults) were examined for ectoparasites in three breeding areas: Isle of May (Firth of Forth, Scotland; eight colonies of approximately known age of occupation on natural sites), North Shields and Gateshead (Tyne and Wear, England; well established colonies of known age on buildings). All the 208 ticks collected were Ixodes uriae. On the Isle of May, a colony which had only been established for 7 years was already infested by ticks. Tick incidence increased significantly with the length of colonization of the area during the first 30 years. Age of colonization did not have an effect after 30 years. In Gateshead only a single adult among the 127 birds examined had a tick. No ticks were found on the 106 chicks born at North Shields checked in 1987 or in 1988. However, among nine visiting newly-fledged chicks from neighbouring colonies caught at the North Shields colony, six had either ticks or scars of previous infestation. Some visiting chicks remained for several days in the host colony and were even fed by the owners of visited nests. Ixodes uriae may thus spread from one colony to another during visits of newly-fledged infested chicks to neighbouring colonies. The absence of any infestation in old colonies (38 years in North Shields and 17 years in Gateshead) on buildings that are regularly visited by newly fledged infested chicks, suggests that buildings may lack the rock refuges necessary for tick survival from one year to the next. In this respect Kittiwake colonies on buildings are rather atypical.     

Annual variation in breeding biology of gentoo penguins, Pygoscelis papua, at Bird Island, South Georgia

The breeding biology of the gentoo penguin, Pygoscelis papua , was studied over a three-year period (1986–1988) at Bird Island, South Georgia, with particular reference to birds of known age or breeding experience. Laying date varied significantly between all three years, being three weeks later in 1987, when the breeding population decreased markedly. Factors involved in the timing of breeding are discussed. Within years egg-laying was highly synchronous: 95% of clutches were initiated in 14·5 days or less. The incubation period was 35 days and the laying interval, between the two eggs, 3·3–3·4 days. Chicks creched when 25–30 days old, and this varied between years, possibly related to food supply and chick growth. Chicks left the colony for the first time between 75 and 85 days of age. The breeding population at Bird Island decreased by 20% and increased by 84% in successive years during the study period. Breeding success (chicks fledged per egg laid) varied between 0·33 and 0·65 within colonies, but for the whole island was very consistent over the three years: 0·45, 0·51 and 0·47. Overall, colony differences were not correlated between years. Disturbance from Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella , is suggested as the cause of consistently lower breeding success at one colony. Mean egg weight varied annually, and with age of the breeding bird, nest location and, in one year, with laying date. Young, first-time breeders laid smaller eggs and had lower breeding success compared to older, experienced birds, similar to other seabirds. However, they differed from other species in laying on average earlier than older birds. The relationship between age, egg weight, laying date and breeding success is discussed in relation to predation and seasonal food supply.     

Helminth parasites of cats from the Vientiane province, Laos, as indicators of the occurrence of causative agents of human parasitoses

A total of 55 domestic cats (Felis catus f. domestica) and one wild (Bengal) cat (Prionaluirus bengalensis) from the Vientiane Province, central Laos, were examined for helminth parasites with emphasis given to potential human parasites. The following species were found (parasites infective to man marked with an asterisk): Opisthorchis viverrini, Haplorchis pumilio, H. taichui, H. yokogawai, Stellantchasmus falcatus (Digenea); Spirometra sp., Dipylidium caninum, Taenia taeniaeformis (Cestoda); Capillariidae gen. sp., Toxocara canis, T. cali, Ancylostoma ceylanicum, A. tubaeforme, Gnathostoma spinigerum, Physaloptera preputialis (Nematoda); and Oncicola sp. (Acanthocephala). This study demonstrated that examination of cats may provide useful data on the occurrence of helminths which are potential causative agents of human diseases.     

Toxocara malaysiensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Ascaridoidea) from the domestic cat (Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758).

Toxocara malaysiensis n. sp. from the small intestine of the domestic cat (Felis catus L.) in Malaysia is described and illustrated. This ascaridoid nematode was previously assumed to be Toxocara canis, which it superficially resembles, or designated Toxocara sp. cf. canis. The new species differs from T. canis in the shape of the cervical alae in cross section, spicule length, and the lip structure. It is also distinct from other species assigned to Toxocara.     

Diet and breeding performance in cats

A conventional cat breeding colony with 70 queens (female cats) was studied during a 4 year period 1979-1982. During that time the fat content in the diet was increased from 15% to 27% of dry matter. An increase in the number of kittens per litter (from 4.5 to 5.5) and in the annual number of litters per queen (from 1.4 to 2.3) was found. In addition, the mortality decreased from over 20% to 9%. Bodyweight gain under the new diet was such that the males reached 2500 g in 4 months while the females showed this same weight at 5 months of age. Litter size and sex distribution as a function of queen age, litter interval and time of year are presented. It is concluded that husbandry and diet are factors which are of great importance in a cat breeding unit. It is shown that under our conditions it is possible to breed conventional cats with good results.     

30例犬小孢子菌致体癣病例的临床分析

目的 通过对30例犬小孢子菌致体癣病例的临床分析,探讨城市犬小孢子菌病的常见感染来源及防治方案.方法 收集2012年6～7月就诊于我院有宠物接触史(猫、狗)的体癣患者30例,对其致病菌种做真菌培养鉴定,对结果进行临床分析.给予患者外用联苯苄唑软膏或特比萘芬软膏治疗.结果 30例患者均在发病前接触过猫或狗,病程不长,真菌培养结果显示均为犬小孢子菌,经治疗后均痊愈.结论 30例犬小孢子菌致体癣患者皮损特征相似,外用抗真菌软膏可得到有效治疗.     

Persistent adrenocortical activation in female rhesus monkeys after new breeding groups formation

Persistent elevated adrenocortical responsiveness to ACTH has been demonstrated in female rhesus monkeys as long as 13 weeks after relocation into new single male breeding groups. Measures of immediate responses to psychosocial stress of grouping such as aggressive interaction and circulating plasma cortisol levels were highest immediately after grouping, but tended to decline to lower levels after the first month. In a retrospective comparison of such 'new' breeding groups (less than one year) versus established breeding groups (more than two years), stress-related morbidities such as trauma (wounding) and loose stools were higher for as long as six months after new group formation. The actual and potential adverse effects of regrouping stress on colony health and reproduction are relevant to cost-benefit assessment of such colony management procedures.     

Microscopic observations of recovery in the reef-building scleractinian coral,Montastrea annularis,after bleaching on a Cayman reef

Living tissues of a single massive colony of the reef-building scleractinian coral, M. annularis, were sampled at one month intervals following the observation that areas of marked discoloration (bleaching) had developed by the beginning of the summer of 1988. Histological analysis of replicate plugs of tissue from bleached and unbleached regions of that colony allowed comparison of time-matched samples as well as zone-matched samples over a period of six months. During that interval, the entire colony was restored to a uniform and normal degree of pigmentation. Histology of the bleached zones documents the gradual accumulation of zooxanthellae and the thickening of the gastrodermal epithelium of the coral. Once reconstituted, the previously bleached gastrodermis, repopulated with algal symbionts, is indistinguishable from unbleached tissue in the coral colony.     

Feral cat diet and impact on sooty terns at Juan de Nova Island, Mozambique Channel

Feral cat Felis catus predation on seabirds has been well documented; however, details regarding shifts in feral cat diet in relation to seabird availability, seabird predation rate and impact on seabird population dynamics are scarce. Here, we present data documenting a seasonal shift in feral cat diet at Juan de Nova Island, Mozambique Channel. We also quantify sooty tern Sterna fuscata predation by feral cats and examine the impact on sooty terns over both the short term (by removing individual cats from sub-colonies) and over the longer term by highlighting their influence on population growth rate ( λ ) using a deterministic matrix model. Cat diet shifted dramatically from insects, rats and mice outside the tern breeding season to primarily terns when terns were breeding. The predation rate of sooty terns at Juan de Nova was estimated at 5.94 terns cat⁻¹ day⁻¹, with a proportion of these (22%) being killed without being consumed ('surplus kills'). When only one cat was removed from each sub-colony, tern predation declined tenfold in the short term. From our matrix model, the annual growth rate for sooty terns was 1.01 in the absence of cat predation. It remained above one until a predation impact equivalent to approximately three times the estimated cat density (12.04 per km²) was incorporated. Our results demonstrate that cats preferentially predate and have an impact on breeding sooty terns at Juan de Nova, and that an increase in cat density could lead to negative effects on population growth, despite the large breeding tern population.     

Fetal ultrasonography: Normal biometric ranges in the baboon (Papio hamadryas)

Normal biometric ranges for fetal growth in a captive breeding baboon (Papio hamadryas) colony are described. Measurements include crown-rump length, biparietal diameter, binocular distance, head circumference, abdominal circumference, femur length and amniotic fluid index. The pattern of fetal growth is compared with other baboon subspecies and man. The uses and limitations of such data for breeding colony management and optimum utilisation of experimentally derived data are discussed.