Studies on Austrobilharzia terrigalensis (Trematoda: Schistosomatidae) in the Swan Estuary, Western Australia: infection in the definitive host, Larus novaehollandiae

The prevalence of Austrobilharzia terrigalensis infection in the Silver Gull (Larus novaehollandiae) population of the Swan Estuary, Western Australia was shown from autopsies to be 80.7% with a median worm load of five pairs. Maximum egg-output was recorded about 3 weeks after the first eggs were voided in the faeces of experimentally-infected birds. Few worms were thought to live longer than 2–3 months. Egg-output from naturally infected L. novaehollandiae was generally low, with a median rate of 24 eggs/g for birds living within 125 km radius of Perth. The liver, duodenum and small intestine were the organs most heavily involved in A. terrigalensis infection.     

Description and surface topography of the cercaria of Austrobilharzia sp. (Digenea: Schistosomatidae)

The cercaria of Austrobilharzia sp. from the marine prosobranch gastropod Planaxis sulcatus in Kuwait Bay is described. The surface microtopography and pattern of the tegumentary sensory receptors are examined using scanning electron microscopy. The general microtopography of the surface of the cercaria is similar to that previously observed in cercariae of mammalian schistosomes, although differences are recorded in the types, numbers and distribution of the sensory receptors. The study identified more than 13 types of receptors comprising aciliated, uniciliated and for the first time a multiciliated receptor in a strigeid cercaria. The ciliated receptor types differ in the cilium length and structure of the surrounding collar and tegumentary base. The receptor types are site specific: (1) the aciliated and pitlike on the anterior organ-neck region and ventral sucker; (2) the uniciliated with a long flexible cilium with or without collar or a tegumentary base on the body and tail; and (3) the uniciliated with a short rigid cilium and a robust collar and tegumentary base, and the multiciliated with 6 flexible cilia and a high cylindrical collar on the anterior organ tip. The reported SEM information on the sensory receptors may contribute to elucidating their functional role and to establishing morphological characters for the phylogeny of the family Schistosomatidae.     

Cultivation of the cercaria of Himasthla quissetensis (Trematoda) on the chick chorioallantois

Cercariae of Himasthla quissetensis were cultivated on the chick chorioallantois maintained at 38 ± 1°C and a relative humidity of 70–75%. Of 68, 6-day-old eggs, each inoculated with 100 cercariae, 28 (41%) were examined 1–9 days post-inoculation. Of the 28 eggs, 23 (82%) were infected with a total of 224 live worms plus 10 encysted metacercariae. Worms contained blood or hematin-like material in their intestinal caeca and showed considerable development of reproductive structures. A total of 58, 6- or 7-day-old chorioallantoic-worms were serially transferred to new 6-day-old embryos, but only a single live worm was recovered after 13 days on two membranes. Based on fixed and stained specimens, 7-day-old chorioallantoic-worms increased their body area about 4× compared to cercariae and the 13-day-old worm increased its body area about 10×.     

长江口及邻近海域浮游水螅水母、管水母和栉水母的丰度分布与季节变化

依据2002—2003年长江口及邻近海域(29°00'—32°00'N、122°00—123°30'E)4个季节的海洋调查资料,探讨了该水域小型水母(含水螅水母、管水母和栉水母)总丰度的空间分布特征及季节差异。结果显示,该海域共出现小型水母41种,其中水螅水母28种,管水螅11种,栉水母2种。主要优势种包括管水母大西洋五角水母(Muggiaea atlantica)、双生水母(Diphyes chamissonis)和气囊水母(Physophora hydrostatica)以及水螅水母四叶小舌水母(Liriope tetraphylla)、两手筐水母(Solmundella bitentaculata)和短柄和平水母(Eirene brevistylus),其中大西洋五角水母为冬、春季第一优势种,双生水母则为夏、秋季第一优势种。该水域小型水母总丰度呈明显季节差异,夏季丰度最高((337.33±55.68)个/m~2),春、秋季次之(分别为(142.09±67.71)个/m~2和(132.84±35.17)个/m~2),冬季最低((113.69±32.72)个/m~2)。水温是影响调查区小型水母总丰度季节变化的主要环境因子,小型水母丰度与表层温度显著正相关(P0.01)。盐度是影响小型水母平面分布格局的主要环境因子,春季小型水母丰度与底层盐度正相关(P0.05),夏季与10 m层盐度正相关(P0.01),全年则是与10 m层盐度正相关(P0.01)。此外,调查水域小型水母丰度与其饵料——小型桡足类亦存在显著正相关关系(P0.01)。     

Morphology, biology and taxonomy of Dendritobilharzia loossi Skrjabin, 1924 (Trematoda: Bilharziellidae), a parasite of Pelecanus onocrotalus (Pelecanidae) and Anas plathyrinchos (Anatidae)

Life cycles of Dendritobilharzia loossi Skrjabin, 1924, a parasite of waterbirds, and its morphobiological traits are studied and described. Mollusks Anisus spirorbis, the infection rate of which in natural environments reaches 1.3-1.9%, were recorded as intermediate hosts under conditions of Uzbekistan. The development of this trematode in intermediate and definitive hosts lasts for 26 and 15 days, respectively. Diagnostic traits of the trematodes during all stages of their ontogeny are reviewed.     

Natural and anthropogenic changes to mangrove distributions in the Pioneer River Estuary (QLD,Australia)

We analyzed a time series of aerial photographs and Landsat satellite imagery of the Pioneer River Estuary (near Mackay, Queensland, Australia) to document both natural and anthropogenic changes in the area of mangroves available to filter river runoff between 1948 and 2002. Over 54 years, there was a net loss of 137 ha (22%) of tidal mangroves during four successive periods that were characterized by different driving mechanisms: (1) little net change (1948–1962); (2) net gain from rapid mangrove expansion (1962–1972); (3) net loss from clearing and tidal isolation (1972–1991); and (4) net loss from a severe species-specific dieback affecting over 50% of remaining mangrove cover (1991–2002). Manual digitization of aerial photographs was accurate for mapping changes in the boundaries of mangrove distributions, but this technique underestimated the total loss due to dieback. Regions of mangrove dieback were identified and mapped more accurately and efficiently after applying the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite imagery, and then monitoring changes to the index over time. These remote sensing techniques to map and monitor mangrove changes are important for identifying habitat degradation, both spatially and temporally, in order to prioritize restoration for management of estuarine and adjacent marine ecosystems.     

Genetic variability among cercariae of the Schistosomatidae (Trematoda: Digenea) causing swimmer's itch in Europe

Ribosomal DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) were obtained from schistosome cercariae responsible for swimmer's itch in Europe. Two types of ITS1 (1100 and 1400), which differ by the number of repeated patterns were found among cercariae shedded by Lymnaea ovata and L. auricularia (Lymnaeidae). A phylogenetic analysis of the ITS1 region showed that sequences of each type form two well-defined clades. An adult of Trichobilharzia regenti isolated from the nasal vessels of Anas platyrhynchos (Anatidae) was found to correspond to the cercaria type 1400. The sequencing of several ITS1 clones from a single cercaria of each type, as well as a specific PCR-based test suggested that both ITS1 types do not co-occur within a single individual.     

不同盐度对闽江河口沉积物硝化作用的影响

选择闽江河口鳝鱼滩湿地与道庆洲湿地为对象,采集湿地沉积物在室内进行沉积物硝化培养,分析不同盐度水平对湿地沉积物硝化作用的影响.结果表明:闽江河口湿地沉积物硝化速率普遍较低,鳝鱼滩湿地沉积物最高硝化速率只有0.193 mg·kg^-1·d^-1,而道庆洲湿地沉积物硝化速率最高不超过0.050 mg·kg^-1·d^-1.盐度的升高会抑制闽江河口湿地沉积物的硝化作用.低盐度时(5),硝化速率下降的主要原因是硝化细菌活性受到抑制;随着盐度的升高(10),硝化速率略有上升但仍低于初始值,这是由于随着盐度的升高,盐度对好氧氨化细菌活性的抑制程度有所加强,导致系统产生NH_4^+-N的速率下降,从而造成好氧氨化细菌对表观硝化速率下降的贡献减少.沉积物硝化活性对于盐度的响应存在地域差异.咸水湿地(鳝鱼滩湿地)沉积物中的微生物对盐度的变化适应性较强,从而使该湿地沉积物硝化活性在高盐度条件下仍然较高.淡水湿地(道庆洲湿地)沉积物对盐度变化的适应性较弱,导致其沉积物硝化活性在高盐度条件下低于中等盐度.闽江河口鳝鱼滩与道庆洲的短叶茳芏湿地沉积物硝化作用较低的主要原因是沉积物呈酸性及淹水状态下的缺氧条件弱化了沉积物的硝化作用.两处湿地的硝化速率与硝化活性随时间的变化趋势为先升高后下降,这是由初始NH_4^+-N浓度、氧气含量和反硝化共同作用造成的.     

大豆蚜寄生蜂豆柄瘤蚜茧蜂室内生物学特性观察

豆柄瘤蚜茧蜂Lysiphlebus fabarum( Marshall)是大豆蚜Aphis glycines Matsumura的一种重要寄生蜂.在实验室条件下,对豆柄瘤蚜茧蜂的发育历期、繁殖力、寿命和性比等指标,以及成蜂的羽化、取食、产卵行为等生物学特性进行了观察描述.结果表明:在19 ～31℃范围内,发育历期随着温...     

Haplometra cylindracea (Zeder, 1800) (Trematoda:Plagiorchiidae): variation in the dates of cercarial shedding for overwintering Galba truncatula

Natural infections of Galba truncatula with Haplometra cylindracea were followed from 2001 to 2009 to determine if their characteristics were similar when snails came from water collections frequented by Bufo bufo or by frogs and newts for their egg-laying. Snail samples were collected from both types of sites to count shed cercariae for three days and also free cercariae when snails were dissected. In sites only frequented by B. bufo, cercarial shedding occurred earlier than in those colonized by frogs and newts (March instead of April-May). In contrast, the number of cercariae shed during three successive days was significantly higher in May. This variation in the dates of cercarial shedding might be due, either to a synchronism between cercaria-releasing snails and the presence of the definitive host (tadpoles) in water collections, or to an earlier infection of overwintering snails in autumn by H. cylindracea miracidia in the case of toad-frequented sites.     

Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) fauna in inland areas of south-west Western Australia

Abstract  Previously existing sources of data regarding mosquitoes in inland areas of south-west Western Australia are few and qualitative in nature. This is the first attempt to quantitatively investigate mosquito fauna in this region. The existing data are reviewed and compared with the results of the quantitative surveys presented in this paper. Temporal comparisons appear to indicate that mosquito community structure in the region may have changed since the initial surveys in the 1950s from a combination of freshwater-breeding species towards a strong dominance of Aedes camptorhynchus (Thomson), a major vector of Ross River virus in southern Australia. It is speculated that this shift may have been brought about by the increasing area and severity of dryland salinity in the region over the last century, and also may increase the potential for Ross River virus disease transmission.     

Food plants and life cycle of Lymantria bantaizana Matsumura (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) in northern Honshu, Japan

The food plants and life cycle of Lymantria bantaizana were investigated in Iwate Prefecture, northern Honshu, Japan from 2000 to 2002. Eggs laid in July hatched approximately 10 days after oviposition. Hatched larvae fed only on Juglandaceae, Juglans mandshurica var. sachaliensis, J. regia var. orientalis and Pterocarya rhoifolia when reared in the laboratory. In field rearing, the plants of Juglans enabled the moth to complete its life cycle. Differing from all other known Lymantria species in Japan, the moth overwintered not in the egg stage but in the fifth or sixth instar larval stage. Lymantria bantaizana had eight larval instars in both sexes. Moth emergence occurred mostly in July at a field‐trapping site in Iwate Prefecture.     

Reappearance of Eumarcia fumigata (G.B. Sowerby II, 1853) (Bivalvia: Veneridae) into the Swan River,Western Australia

ABSTRACT

The venerid bivalve Eumarcia fumigata was a common species in Western Australia (WA) during the Pleistocene, where it was distributed as far north as Shark Bay. It became extinct in WA as the climate changed several thousand years ago but remains common in eastern Australia from southern Queensland to South Australia and Tasmania. The species has recently reappeared in the Swan River, probably due to shipping movements. Of the > 60 marine and estuarine species introduced into WA it is only the third confirmed introduction from eastern Australia, and the first that is a reappearance in the Swan River of a species present in the geological past. The present reappearance of E. fumigata, and the introduction of other species, has been made possible by the removal of a rocky bar at the mouth of the estuary and the creation of more marine conditions in the lower Swan estuary.