Parasitic fauna of the cherry salmon in the Maritime Territory

23 species of fresh water parasites were recorded from cherry salmon of which 11 species were first recorded from this host and 14 species from the Maritime Territory. The monogeneans Tetraonchus awakurai and T. oncorhynchus are specific for this host. Most strongly it is infected with parasites the intermediate hosts of which are benthic organisms. Oligochaetes, larvae of amphibiotic insects and amphipods play a considerable role in the feeding of cherry salmon in fresh water. Differences in the parasitic fauna of this fish from southern and northern parts of the Maritime Territory were found out. In the north the food ration of this species is more limited with predominance of oligochaetes in it. Diversity of the aquatic fauna, the abundance of invertebrates and fishes in it, the history of fauna formation define the peculiarities of parasitic fauna of the cherry salmon.     

SOUND PRODUCTION BY AQUATIC INSECTS

1. Sound production by aquatic insects is found in four orders — Trichoptera, Odonata, Heteroptera and Coleoptera. 2. Immature aquatic insects that produce sound are rare, stridulation being present in one family of Trichoptera (Hydropsychidae) and one genus and species in a relic suborder of Odonata (Anisozygoptera) - Epiophlebia superstes. Hydropsychid larvae produce sound with a head/fore femur mechanism and use sound as part of aggressive behaviour for defence of feeding nets. Larval E. superstes use a hind femur/abdominal mechanism to dissuade predators. 3. Sound production has been documented in adults of all families of aquatic Heteroptera except Helotrephidae. In corixids and notonectids, acoustic signals play a role in mating. Members of the genus Buenoa (Notonectidae) are unique in having two stridulatory mechanisms in the same individual. Sound production has been most intensively studied in the Corixidae. Although sounds are used in mating by all singing corixids, their use seems to be facultative in some species and obligatory in others. Recent experiments by Theiss (1982) have shown that the air stores carried by corixids are used for both sound radiation and reception. 4. The adephagan beetle families Hygrobiidae, Dytiscidae and Haliplidae have all been shown to produce sound. Mechanisms of sound production have been established for haliplids and hygrobiids but have yet to be for most dytiscids. Sound production is used by beetles as part of sequences of aggressive/defensive and reproductive behaviour. 5. Sound production is especially well documented in the Hydrophilidae (Polyphaga). Hydrophilids use an abdominal/elytral mechanism and sound appears to be used in the same contexts as in adephagans. 6. Insects that produce sound under water must contend with the physical problems of sound transmission in a relatively dense, viscous medium with sharp boundaries. Because of potential distortion of the frequency components in a signal by reflection from the air/water interface in very shallow water, frequency is unreliable for encoding information. Aquatic insects use instead amplitude modulation and temporal patterning of signals. 7. For aquatic invertebrates, sound fields are different than those in air because the extent of the near field is approximately four times greater in water. This near field, a region in which displacement waves are predominant over pressure waves, extends to a greater distance than most aquatic insects communicate over. Such displacement waves could have important but as yet unconsidered effects. 8. The mass and viscosity of the water dictates that sound producing structures of aquatic insects should be heavier and more massive than those of terrestrial insects. A survey of stridulatory organs of aquatic insects reveals this to be true and reveals that the relatively fragile, membranous stridulatory organs of some terrestrial insects (especially Orthoptera) are absent. 9. The elaboration of sound producing structures in aquatic insects probably occurred at the family or subfamily level and for Heteroptera, Trichoptera and Odonata evolved after the invasion of the water. Acoustic signals used reproductively would probably be more closely associated with the emergence of new taxa. 10. Stridulatory structures have been derived from either structures devoted to some other function or from structures involved in the behaviour currently enhanced by sound production.     

Microhabitat selection by the fishfly larva, Parachauliodes japonicus, in relation to its mode of respiration

SUMMARY. 1. Larvae of Parachauliodes japonicus (Megaloptera: Corydalidae) were tracked in streams using miniature radio-transmitters.
2. Larvae usually stayed under stones in shallow water for several days, but occasionally moved about on the stream bed at night.
3. Larvae possess a pair of respiratory tubes on abdominal segment VIII, which can be used as a snorkel to obtain oxygen from the atmosphere. Because respiratory rates decreased as dissolved oxygen decreased, larvae turned to air-breathing under lowered oxygen conditions. When in shallow water, they can alter respiratory mode from aquatic respiration to air breathing instantly by raising their caudal respiratory tubes to the surface of the water.
4. Microhabitat selection and respiratory behaviour are compared with those obtained previously for Protohermes grandis larvae, which belong to the same family and often inhabit the same stream as P. japonicus , but which have gill tufts on abdominal segments I-VII instead of respiratory tubes. The respiratory constraint on microhabitat preference by aquatic insects is discussed.     

Compound eyes of insects and crustaceans: Some examples that show there is still a lot of work left to be done

Similarities and differences between the 2 main kinds of compound eye (apposition and superposition) are briefly explained before several promising topics for research on compound eyes are being introduced. Research on the embryology and molecular control of the development of the insect clear‐zone eye with superposition optics is one of the suggestions, because almost all of the developmental work on insect eyes in the past has focused on eyes with apposition optics. Age‐ and habitat‐related ultrastructural studies of the retinal organization are another suggestion and the deer cad Lipoptena cervi, which has an aerial phase during which it is winged followed by a several months long parasitic phase during which it is wingless, is mentioned as a candidate species. Sexual dimorphism expressing itself in many species as a difference in eye structure and function provides another promising field for compound eye researchers and so is a focus on compound eye miniaturization in very small insects, especially those that are aquatic and belong to species, in which clear‐zone eyes are diagnostic or are tiny insects that are not aquatic, but belong to taxa like the Diptera for instance, in which open rather than closed rhabdoms are the rule. Structures like interommatidial hairs and glands as well as corneal microridges are yet another field that could yield interesting results and in the past has received insufficient consideration. Finally, the dearth of information on distance vision and depth perception is mentioned and a plea is made to examine the photic environment inside the foam shelters of spittle bugs, chrysales of pupae and other structures shielding insects and crustaceans.     

云南昆明地区糠片盾蚧的天敌昆虫种类初报

于 2 0 0 1～ 2 0 0 2年在昆明和曲靖对危害桃、苹果和梨树上糠片盾蚧的天敌昆虫种类进行了调查。结果显示 ,糠片盾蚧寄生性天敌昆虫有 7种 ,隶属于膜翅目小蜂总科的跳小蜂科和蚜小蜂科 ,其中 ,桑盾蚧黄蚜小蜂Aphytisproclia (Walker)是糠片盾蚧的主要寄生蜂 ,其数量占寄生蜂总数的 79 7%;捕食性天敌昆虫有 3种 ,隶属于鞘翅目、瓢虫科 ,其中 ,二双斑唇瓢虫ChilocorusbijugusMulsant为糠片盾蚧的主要捕食性天敌昆虫     

Patch size drives colonization by aquatic insects,with minor priority effects of a cohabitant

Patch size is one of the most important factors affecting the distribution and abundance of species, and recent research has shown that patch size is an important niche dimension affecting community structure in aquatic insects. Building on this result, we examined the impact of patch size in conjunction with presence of larval anurans on colonization by aquatic insects. Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope''s gray treefrog) larvae are abundant and early colonists in fishless lentic habitats, and these larvae can fill multiple ecological roles. By establishing larvae in mesocosms prior to colonization, we were able to assess whether H. chrysoscelis larvae have priority effects on aquatic insect assemblages. We conducted a series of three experiments in naturally colonized experimental landscapes to test whether (1) H. chrysoscelis larval density affects insect colonization, (2) variation in patch size affects insect colonization, and (3) the presence and larval density of H. chrysoscelis shift colonization of insects between patches of different size. Larval density independently had almost no effect on colonization, while patch size had species‐specific effects consistent with prior work. When larvae and patch size were tested in conjunction, patch size had numerous, often strong, species‐specific effects on colonization; larval density had effects largely limited to the assemblages of colonizing beetles and water bugs, with few effects on individual species. Higher larval densities in large mesocosms shifted some insect colonization to smaller patches, resulting in higher beta diversity among small patches in proximity to high density large mesocosms. This indicates establishing H. chrysoscelis larvae prior to insect colonization can likely create priority effects that slightly shape insect communities. Our results support the importance of patch size in studying species abundances and distributions and also indicate that colonization order plays an important role in determining the communities found within habitat patches.     

Complex impact of an invasive crayfish on freshwater food webs

Invasive alien species can have complex effects on native ecosystems, and interact with multiple components of food webs, making it difficult a comprehensive quantification of their direct and indirect effects. We evaluated the relationships between the invasive crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, amphibian larvae and predatory insects, to quantify crayfish impacts on multiple levels of food webs, and to evaluate whether crayfish predation of aquatic insects has indirect consequences for their preys. We used pipe sampling to assess the abundance of crayfish, amphibian larvae and their major predators (Ditiscidae, Notonectidae and larvae of Anisoptera) in invaded and uninvaded ponds within a human dominated landscape. We disentangled the multivariate effects of P. clarkii on different components of food web through a series of constrained redundancy analyses. The crayfish had a negative, direct impact on both amphibian communities and their predators. Amphibian abundance was negatively related to both predators. However, the negative, direct effects of crayfish on amphibians were much stronger than predation by native insects. Our results suggest that this crayfish impacts multiple levels of food webs, disrupting natural prey-predator relationships.     

Spanning the gap: experimental determination of paratenic host specificity of horsehair worms (Nematomorpha: Gordiida)

Abstract. Details of the life cycle of freshwater nematomorphs (gordiids) remain unclear. Free-living aquatic larval gordiids must make a critical transition from an epibenthic aquatic environment to terrestrial hosts. In order to identify potential hosts capable of bridging this ecological gap, the specificity of paratenic hosts of three common species of North American gordiids was investigated. All three species were characterized by an identical infection pattern: low host specificity. Gordiids were able to encyst within annelids, mollusks, crustaceans, insects and a vertebrate. Three species of putative host (a turbellarian, a water mite, and a mosquito larva) were not infected with any of the gordiid species. Internal defense reactions (IDR) and feeding behaviors are implicated as preventing infection in these species. Several of the other host species produced either an IDR or an immune reaction to the cysts, although reactions to the cysts were highly variable between species. In most species, IDR did not cause noticeable harm to the encysted larvae. It is proposed that although many species are easily infected with gordiid cysts, most do not act as natural paratenic hosts. For some of these host groups, especially snails, a role as reservoir host is suggested. Of all hosts included in this study, aquatic insects were identified as the hosts likely responsible for spanning the ecological gap and acting as true hosts for gordiids.     

Diversity of chironomid larvae in palustrine wetlands of the coastal plain in the south of Brazil

The Chironomidae of tropical South America are a very rich species, but are scarcely known. The range of environmental conditions under which chironomids are found is more extensive than that of any other group of aquatic insects. The objectives of this study were to carry out a diversity survey of chironomid larvae in wetland systems of the coastal plain in the south of Brazil and to analyze the effects of area, altitude, water conductivity, nitrate and phosphorus concentrations, and the life form of the dominant plant species on chironomid richness and composition. Collections were carried out from March to April in 2002. A total of 30 taxa (23 morphospecies and 7 species) distributed along 23 genera were found, and the Chironominae showed the greatest richness, followed by Tanypodinae and Orthocladiinae. The chironomid richness was higher in the emergent than in the multistratified wetland class. The wetland area, altitude, nitrate and phosphorus concentrations, and water conductivity did not influence the richness of Chironomidae. The Chironomidae genera and species were present in both the wetland classes (emergent and aquatic bed vegetation). However, while Chironominae were more frequent in the emergent than in the aquatic bed wetlands, no difference was observed for Tanypodinae. The aquatic vegetation was an important environmental predictor for chironomid larvae richness in the studied wetlands in the south of Brazil.     

Epizoic and parasitic rotifers

Many rotifer species live in close association with plants or other animals. Most of these associations are of a commensal or synoecious nature, some rotifer species having lost the ability to live independently. Few rotifers are true parasites, actually harming their hosts.The Seisonidae, Monogononta and Bdelloidea include epizoic and parasitic species. The most widely known are probably the parasites of colonial and filamentous algae (e.g. Volvox, Vaucheria). However, rotifers are also found on a wide range of invertebrates: colonial, sessile Protozoa; Porifera; Rotifera; Annelida; Bryozoa; Echinodermata; Mollusca, especially on the shells and egg masses of aquatic gastropods; Crustacea, including the lower forms (e.g. Daphnia, Asellus, Gammarus) and in the gill chambers of Astacus and Chasmagnathus; the aquatic larvae of insects. There appear to be few records of epizoic or parasitic rotifers among vertebrates, apart from Encentrum kozminskii on carp, Limnias ceratophylli on the Amazonian crocodile, Melanosuchus niger, and an unidentified Bdelloid apparently living as a pathogenic rotifer in Man.     

Hatching strategies in monogenean (platyhelminth) parasites that facilitate host infection

In parasites, environmental cues may influence hatching of eggs and enhance the success of infections. The two major endoparasitic groups of parasitic platyhelminths, cestodes (tapeworms) and digeneans (flukes), typically have high fecundity, infect more than one host species, and transmit trophically. Monogeneans are parasitic flatworms that are among the most host specific of all parasites. Most are ectoparasites with relatively low fecundity and direct life cycles tied to water. They infect a single host species, usually a fish, although some are endoparasites of amphibians and aquatic chelonian reptiles. Monogenean eggs have strong shells and mostly release ciliated larvae, which, against all odds, must find, identify, and infect a suitable specific host. Some monogeneans increase their chances of finding a host by greatly extending the hatching period (possible bet-hedging). Others respond to cues for hatching such as shadows, chemicals, mechanical disturbance, and osmotic changes, most of which may be generated by the host. Hatching may be rhythmical, larvae emerging at times when the host is more vulnerable to invasion, and this may be combined with responses to other environmental cues. Different monogenean species that infect the same host species may adopt different strategies of hatching, indicating that tactics may be more complex than first thought. Control of egg assembly and egg-laying, possibly by host hormones, has permitted colonization of frogs and toads by polystomatid monogeneans. Some monogeneans further improve the chances of infection by attaching eggs to the host or by retaining eggs on, or in, the body of the parasite. The latter adaptation has led ultimately to viviparity in gyrodactylid monogeneans.     

Jumping and the aerial behavior of aquatic mayfly larvae (Myobaetis ellenae,Baetidae)

Mayfly larvae generally are aquatic, but some madicolous taxa (i.e., living in thin water films) crawl over rocks within streams and waterfalls. When startled, these larvae can break the water film, jump, and enter an aerial phase of locomotion. Because mayfly larvae have been suggested as potential exemplars for the origin of insect wings as tracheal gills, and furthermore represent the most basal extant lineage of pterygotes, we analyzed jumping behavior and free-fall trajectories for one such species of mayfly (Myobaetis ellenae, Baetidae) in Costa Rica. Jumping was commonplace in this taxon, but was undirected and was characterized by body spinning at high angular velocities. No aerodynamic role for the tracheal gills was evident. By contrast, jumping by a sympatric species of bristletail (Meinertellus sp., Archaeognatha) consistently resulted in head-first and stable body postures during aerial translation. Although capable of intermittently jumping into the air, the mayfly larvae could neither control nor target their aerial behavior. By contrast, a stable body posture during jumps in adult bristletails, together with the demonstrated capacity for directed aerial descent in arboreal representatives of this order, support ancestrally terrestrial origins for insect flight within the behavioral context of either jumping or falling from heights.     

Linking the evolution of habitat choice to ecosystem functioning: direct and indirect effects of pond-reproducing fire salamanders on aquatic-terrestrial subsidies

Shifts in life history traits and in the behaviour of species can potentially alter ecosystem functioning. The reproduction of the central European fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra), which usually deposits its larvae in first-order streams, in small pool and pond-like habitats, is an example of a recent local adaptation in this species. Here we aimed to quantify the direct and indirect effects of the predatory larvae on the aquatic food webs in the ponds and on the flux of matter between the ponds and adjacent terrestrial habitats. Our estimates are based on biomass data of the present pond fauna as well as on the analysis of stomach content data, growth rates and population dynamics of the salamander larvae in pond habitats. By their deposition of larvae in early spring, female fire salamanders import between 0.07 and 2.86 g dry mass m^?2 larval biomass into the ponds. Due to high mortality rates in the larval phase and the relatively small size at metamorphosis of the pond-adapted salamanders compared to stream-adapted ones, the biomass export of the metamorphosed salamanders clearly falls below the initial biomass import. Catastrophic events such as high water temperatures and low oxygen levels may even occasionally result in mass mortalities of salamander larvae and thus in a net 100 % import of the salamander biomass into the pond food webs. Indirect effects further accelerate this net import of matter into the aquatic habitat, e.g. the feeding of salamanders on aquatic insect larvae with the emergence of terrestrial adults—thus preventing export—and on terrestrial organisms that fall on the water surface (supporting import). This study demonstrates that the adaptation of salamanders to pond reproduction can alter food web linkages across ecosystem boundaries by enhancing the flux of materials and energy from terrestrial (i.e. forest) to the aquatic (i.e. pond) habitat.     

Isolation and identification of α-proteobacteria from Culex pipiens (Diptera Culicidae) larvae

A survey of drainage ditches in suburban areas of La Plata, Buenos Aires province, Argentina for pathogens of Culex pipiens larvae was conducted from 2003 to 2006. C. pipiens larvae of opaque, white color were found in several of those field collections. When the white larvae were dissected and observed by phase-contrast microscopy in wet-mount preparations, the presence of bacteria, located in the hemocoel, was recorded. Laboratory experiments were performed to elucidate the pathway for transmission of this pathogen. Although approaches involving traditional culturing had failed to reveal the identity of the new microorganism present, molecular techniques to identify the pathogen in the studies reported here were successful. The partial sequence of the 16S-rRNA gene constitutes a powerful tool for the detection of new isolates from the hemocoele of C. pipiens larvae. These bacteria were characterized as belonging to the genus Novispirillum. In spite of the genus's wide distribution in different aquatic environments, information related to the parasitic relationship of Novispirillum spp. to aquatic insects is scarce, and this association has not been described in other mosquito species. This report constitutes the first documentation of Novispirillum spp. as a pathogen for mosquito larvae.     

The feeding ecology of freshwater fishes in two rivers of the Australian wet tropics

Synopsis The fish fauna of the Mulgrave and South Johnstone rivers is diverse relative to other Australian rivers and this study examines the diets of many of the resident fish species. Most species were small (< 200 g), and although considerable overlap in the size of the mouth was observed, closely related species tended to have non-overlapping ranges in mouth size. Five trophic guilds were recognised and substantial discrimination between guilds on the basis of body size was noted. Small fishes (< 5 gm body weight) consumed a variety of insect larvae and small terrestrial insects. The diet of large fish was characterised by the presence of large aquatic invertebrates and fish. A third group of intermediate sized fishes (10–20 gm), which included the 0+ age class of three species of large fish, also consumed aquatic invertebrates but only a small proportion of terrestrial invertebrates. Vegetable material was present in the diet of all three guilds but the source of that material varied. In groups 1 to 3 above, the source of that material was desmids and diatoms, aquatic macrophytes or filamentous alga respectively. A fourth guild fed predominately on detritus and some bivalve molluscs, and a fifth group, containing only two species, fed feavily on gastropod molluscs. The extent of dietary overlap varied both within- and between-rivers. In habitats dominated by low water velocities and sandy substrates, resource partitioning was pronounced and the number of fishes with empty or near empty guts was high, suggesting that food was more limited in this type of habitats. Little resource partitioning was observed in habitats characterised by a coarse substrate, high water velocity and dense riparian canopy.     

云南香格里拉叉襀科昆虫病原菌的鉴定

叉襀科Nemouroidea是襀翅目中数量最多的一个科,叉襀科昆虫也是水生生态系统环境监测的重要指示生物.为明确云南香格里拉叉襀科稚虫自然病死虫体上的病原菌并研究该病原菌对叉襀科稚虫的致病性,本研究利用常规组织分离法分离云南香格里拉叉襀科稚虫病原菌,结合形态学与分子生物学方法对两株病原菌进行鉴定,利用柯赫法则及二项式回...     

Dietary items of predacious aquatic bugs (Nepoidea: Heteroptera) in Japanese wetlands

Some species of predatory aquatic bugs (Nepoidea, including Belostomatidae and Nepidae) are designated as threatened-vulnerable species in the Red Data Book of Japan and are regarded as effective predators of freshwater snails and mosquito larvae. To reveal the feeding habits of Nepoidea, we investigated their dietary items in wetlands and obtained data from the published literature. Lethocerus deyrolli (Vuillefroy) preys mainly upon frogs, and the major diet of the nymphs is tadpoles. Laccotrephes japonensis (Scott) adults prey mainly upon tadpoles. Lethocerus deyrolli nymphs and L. japonensis adults compete against each other as same-guild members because they are sympatric in wetlands. Both nymphs and adults of Appasus japonicus (Vuillefroy) feed on snails, and L. japonensis nymphs feed on aquatic insects, including mosquito larvae (39.3% of aquatic insects). These species are effective predators of medically important pests such as snails, and mosquito larvae.     

Life cycle and paratenesis of American gordiids (Nematomorpha: Gordiida)

To complete their life cycle, gordiids must make a transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments. However, epibenthic aquatic larvae and their terrestrial definitive hosts do not overlap in habitat. This has led many investigators to suggest that infections are acquired through the ingestion of insects, which become infected as aquatic larvae with gordiid cysts and subsequently carry gordiids to land. This proposed life cycle was experimentally tested using 3 common American species of gordiids: Gordius robustus, Paragordius varius, and Chordodes morgani. Cysts of all 3 species survived the metamorphosis of Tanytarsus sp., a midge. Subsequent infection trials of definitive hosts with cysts from imagos show that cysts surviving the metamorphosis of insects remained viable and free of host internal defense reaction. Data from naturally infected mayflies, Callibaetus sp., show that encystment and survival of gordiids within aquatic insects occur in nature. Paratenesis between paratenic hosts was also shown to be possible in these 3 species. This latter finding appears to indicate that cysts formed in spurious paratenic hosts may not be lost but may eventually transfer to normal paratenic hosts.