Disease prevalence in an urban raptor related to pest species: The case of Eurasian Scops Owl Otus scops infection by Gongylonema sp.

Urbanization is often associated with homogenization, including the homogenization of biodiversity and overpopulation by generalist species that can change community and disease dynamics. In Madrid, nestlings of Eurasian Scops Owl Otus scops frequently suffer necrotic oropharyngeal disease as a result of infection by Gongylonema sp., a parasitic nematode transmitted by adult owls to their offspring through the diet, more specifically through consumption of a pest species: the oriental cockroach Blatta orientalis. We studied how the presence of cockroaches and owl infection rates are affected by urban features such as green areas. We found that a higher number of birds were affected by the parasite in the initial period of the breeding season and in areas with greater surface area of green spaces. We suggest that urban management should promote the diversity of insects in green areas so that the owls diversify their dietary offer to their offspring, to reduce the prevalence of the disease and improve their breeding success in the city of Madrid, as this problem has not yet been described in other cities.     

A New Owl Species of the Genus Otus (Aves: Strigidae) from Lombok,Indonesia

The avifauna of Indonesia is one of the richest in the world but the taxonomic status of many species remains poorly documented. The sole species of scops owl known from Lombok has long been assigned to the widespread Moluccan Scops Owl Otus magicus on the basis of superficial similarities in morphology. Field work in 2003 has shown that the territorial song of the scops owls inhabiting the foothills of Gunung Rinjani differs dramatically from that of O. magicus and is more similar to those of Rufescent Scops Owl O. rufescens and Singapore Scops Owl O. cnephaeus. Detailed comparisons of sound recordings and museum specimens with those of other scops owls in Wallacea and the Indo-Malayan region have confirmed the distinctiveness of the Lombok population. We describe Otus jolandae as a new species, the Rinjani Scops Owl. It is locally common at elevations from 25–1350 m. and occurs within Gunung Rinjani National Park. The new species is known from seven specimens collected by Alfred Everett in 1896. Otus jolandae represents the first endemic bird species from Lombok.     

Effects of the allelopathically active macrophyte Myriophyllum spicatum on a natural phytoplankton community: a mesocosm study

The objective of this study was to identify potential effects of habitat conditions on parasite infection risk in reservoirs. For this, we compared parasite infection in 0+ perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) between reservoir sections: (1) along the longitudinal profile of Brno reservoir (inflow—main body—outflow), and (2) the transversal profile of Hamry reservoir (littoral and pelagic zones). Perch were predominantly infected with trophically transmitted endoparasites. Longitudinal parasite infection differed between sampling sections, showing different trends in particular parasite species between sections. The abundance of dominant Bunodera luciopercae was highest in the main body and lowest in the outflow, abundance of Proteocephalus sp. and Camallanus spp. decreased between the inflow and outflow, and abundance of Acanthocephalus lucii and ectoparasites (Gyrodactylus sp. and Argulus foliaceus) increased from the inflow to the outflow. Parasite diversity was higher in the outflow compared to other sections. No difference was observed in parasite abundance between littoral and pelagic perch subpopulations, though higher endoparasite diversity was found in the littoral zone. The results indicate that habitat type can influence parasite infection in perch through local food (intermediate host) availability. Fish–host behaviour is also discussed as a factor possibly influencing infection in perch.     

A new Real Time PCR with species-specific primers from Plasmodium malariae/P. brasilianum mitochondrial cytochrome b gene

Plasmodium malariae mainly causes asymptomatic submicroscopic parasitemia in the endemic Amazon and non-endemic Atlantic Forest, where the number of cases and transmission of malaria through blood transfusion has increased. This study developed a P. malariae/P. brasilianum Real Time PCR (rtPCR) targeting the cytochrome b oxidase (cytb), a highly repetitive gene (20-150 copies/parasite) that should detect more cases than the 18S rRNA (4-8 copies/parasite) gene-based amplification systems. Cytb from human and non-human Plasmodium species (including P. brasilianum) aligned to the only 20 African P. malariae cytb sequences identified polymorphic regions within which we designed P. malariae species-specific primers. Non-human Plasmodium species, related parasites, anemia-causing microorganisms, normal human DNA and 47 blood bank donors samples that were truly negative to malaria accessed rtPCR specificity. Truly positive samples (n = 101) with species identification by semi-nested, nested or TaqMan PCR, and four samples from the Atlantic Forest that were suspected of malaria but three of them had negative genus TaqMan and 18S rRNA nested PCR. The cloned amplification product used in standard curves determined qPCR detection limit (0.5-1 parasite equivalent/μL). The 10 positive P. malariae samples among truly positives yielded positive rtPCR results and more importantly, rtPCR detected the four samples suspected of malaria from the Atlantic Forest. The rtPCR specificity was 100%, reproducibility 11.1% and repeatability 6.7%. In conclusion, the proposed rtPCR is fast, apparently more sensitive than all 18S rRNA amplification systems for detecting extremely low parasitemia. The rtPCR is also specific to P. malariae/P. brasilianum species. This new molecular tool could be applied to the detection of P. malariae/brasilianum infections with submicroscopic parasitemias in the context of epidemiological studies and blood bank safety programs.     

Home range and movement patterns of Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae

Virani, M. 2000. Home range and movement patterns of Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae. Ostrich 71 (1 & 2): 139–142.

A radio-telemetric study of the endangered Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae was conducted between July and December 1993. The aims were to determine the species' home range and movement patterns with respect to time and moon phases. Information gathered would then be used to formulate a rational conservation plan to ensure their survival. Six adult owls (from three adjacent pairs) were monitored during the study period. Pairs held exclusive home ranges with little (2.6%) or no overlap with their neighbours. Mean home range size (MCP) of individual owls was 8.8 ha while mean home range size of each pair was 11.0 ha. Peak owl activity took place immediately after dusk and prior to dawn. Periods of lulls occurred between 23h00 and 03h00. Movement per unit time was negatively correlated with distance from roost. The owls tended to forage further from their roosts on nights with decreased illumination from the moon. Maximum owl distances from roosts were attained between 00h00 and 02h00.     

Morphological and molecular characterizations of the Gregarina sp. (Apicomplexa: Protozoa) parasitizing on Phaedon brassicae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

A gregarine parasite (Eugregarinida: Gregarinidae) was observed in the population of daikon leaf beetle, Phaedon brassicae Baly, (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Korea. Gregarines are well known species-specific parasites of various Arthropoda. This Gregarina sp. also confirmed a species-specific parasite in P. brassicae. Based on 1.727 kb of 18S rDNA sequence (FJ481523), this gregarine species was grouped in eugregarine and a 5.258 kb of full length rDNA replicon was cloned (JF412715). We also observed interaction of trophozoite or gamonto of gregarine and epithelium of a host midgut using a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope. Although the developmental period of the infected host is delayed half a day in every larval stage, there was no significant difference in the developmental period of P. brassicae whether Gregarina sp. was infected or not. Gregarina sp. was a kind of facultative parasite from P. brassicae. This is the first report of a gregarine parasite in P. brassicae.     

Investigation of a sex pheromone for the oriental cockroach,Blatta orientalis

A sex pheromone for adult male oriental cockroaches Blatta orientalis was isolated from the faeces of adult virgin female oriental cockroaches. It elicited a sexual response at 10 pg and 1 ng with B. orientalis and Periplaneta americana adult males, respectively. The site of production appers to be the crop, oesophagus, and proventriculus. Electroantennogram responses of male antennae toward the isolated pheromone were greater than those of the female antennae. The adult male oriental cockroach also responded to the American cockroach sex pheromone. The isolated pheromone with a mol. wt of 232 may be similar to one of the components of the American cockroach sex pheromone.     

Intermediate host availability masks the strength of experimentally-derived colonisation patterns in echinostome trematodes

A fundamental goal of parasite evolutionary ecology is to elucidate patterns of host use and determine the underlying mechanisms of parasite colonisation. In order to distinguish the relative contributions of host encounter rates and host compatibility to infection outcomes, we compared host use in both field and experimental laboratory settings. Two years of bi-weekly snail sampling at a freshwater pond demonstrated fluctuating availability among three potential second intermediate snail host species and suggested that two trematode species (Echinostoma revolutum and Echinoparyphium sp.) did not colonise the three potential snail host species, Lymnaea elodes, Physa gyrina and Helisoma trivolvis, differentially. However, a series of experimental infections demonstrated that both parasites colonised H. trivolvis more so than the other two host species. Thus, more echinostome parasites utilised snail hosts that cannot serve as their first intermediate host. In experimental infections, host size and vagility were not strong determinants of infection. By utilising field and laboratory approaches, we were able to compare the strength of host compatibility under controlled conditions with patterns of infection in nature. Based on the results from these studies, it appears that host encounter is the primary mechanism dictating infection outcomes in the field.     

Molecular genetic diversity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gongylonema neoplasticum</Emphasis> (Fibiger &amp; Ditlevsen, 1914) (Spirurida: Gongylonematidae) from rodents in Southeast Asia

More than a dozen Gongylonema spp. (Spirurida: Spiruroidea: Gongylonematidae) have been described from a variety of rodent hosts worldwide. Gongylonema neoplasticum (Fibiger & Ditlevsen, 1914), which dwells in the gastric mucosa of rats such as Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout) and Rattus rattus (Linnaeus), is currently regarded as a cosmopolitan nematode in accordance with global dispersion of its definitive hosts beyond Asia. To facilitate the reliable specific differentiation of local rodent Gongylonema spp. from the cosmopolitan congener, the genetic characterisation of G. neoplasticum from Asian Rattus spp. in the original endemic area should be considered since the morphological identification of Gongylonema spp. is often difficult due to variations of critical phenotypical characters, e.g. spicule lengths and numbers of caudal papillae. In the present study, morphologically identified G. neoplasticum from 114 rats of seven species from Southeast Asia were selected from archived survey materials from almost 4,500 rodents: Thailand (58 rats), Cambodia (52 rats), Laos (three rats) and Philippines (one rat). In addition, several specimens from four rats in Indonesia were used in the study. Nucleotide sequences of the ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) (5,649 bp) and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1) (818 bp) were characterised. The rDNA showed little nucleotide variation, including the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. The cox1 showed 24 haplotypes, with up to 15 (1.83%) nucleotide substitutions regardless of parasite origin. Considering that Rattus spp. have been shown to originate from the southern region of Asia and G. neoplasticum is their endogenous parasite, it is reasonable to propose that the present study covers a wide spectrum of the genetic diversity of G. neoplasticum, useful for both the molecular genetic speculation of the species and the molecular genetic differentiation of other local rodent Gongylonema spp. from the cosmopolitan congener.     

The host specificity of Moniliformis dubius (Acanthocephala), a parasite of cockroaches

Moniliformis dubius apparently evades the cellular defence reaction of the normal intermediate host, Periplaneta americana, by the production of a non-cellular envelope. Larval development will occasionally occur in other species of cockroaches: though some of these species reject tissue transplants from P. americana, they do not respond to the envelope of M. dubius when the parasite is transplanted from P. americana. This contrasts with the response elicited by gregarines transplanted from P. americana into other cockroach species, and it is suggested that the envelope surface of M. dubius mimics, but is not identical to, the surfaces of tissues from P. americana.     

RECENT BIOACOUSTIC PUBLICATIONS—from 1991 and a few from 1990 and 1989

ABSTRACT

The focus of this study was to determine whether individual vocal identification of Scops Owls Otus scops was possible and if there was a stability of the hoot-calls over a short time period in the same individuals. Spontaneous vocalizations of 13 owls were recorded in 2004 in Southern Tuscany, Italy. Visual analysis of spectrograms and quantitative multivariate analysis of six vocal features showed marked individual differences. In some owls a repertoire of two different hoot types was found. In 2005, 10 Scops owls were recorded three times in the same breeding season (2 hours and 10 days after the first session). Statistical analysis of data showed that 60% of owls did not change call features over time. However a slight but significant variability between successive vocal performances of the same owl was found in 40% of cases. This variability may decrease the recognition power by acoustic analysis. To overcome this obstacle I suggest a multi step qualitative/quantitative approach. A Difference Index (DI) was calculated to set a threshold between the slight intra-individual and the very high inter-individual variability. This method allowed the recognition of calls of each owl recorded over time in 2005.     

Domiciliary cockroaches and their oothecal parasites in India

In a survey for oothecal parasites of cockroaches in India, 6 species of cockroaches were recorded. Of theseNeostylopyga rhombifolia (Stoll.) was restricted to thatched huts whileBlattella germanica (L.),Periplaneta americana (L.),P. australasiae (F.),P. brunnea Burmeister andSupella longipalpa (F.) were common in other types of buildings. Eight species of parasites, of which 4 are new records, were reared:Anastatus tenuipes Bolivar.,Comperia merceti Compere,Evania appendigaster (L.),Evania sp. nearantennalis Westw., Genus et sp. nov. nearAnastatus. Tetrastichus asthenogmus (Waterston),T. hagenowii (Ratzeburg) andTetrastichus sp. (miser group) which is hyperparasitic. The natural and experimental hosts of these parasites are discussed. The low levels of field parasitism suggest there is scope for introducing more promising parasite species into India for biological control of cockroaches.     

Molecular identification of seven Sarcocystis species in red deer (Cervus elaphus) from Lithuania

The diaphragm muscles of 77 free-ranging red deer (Cervus elaphus) were examined for Sarcocystis species in Lithuania. Sarcocysts were detected in 61 out of 77 (79.2%) animals investigated. A total of 60 isolated sarcocysts were identified to species using subunit I of cytochrome c oxidase (cox1) sequence analysis. Overall, seven species, S. entzerothi, S. hjorti, S. iberica, S. linearis, S. pilosa, S. truncata and S. venatoria, were confirmed in Lithuanian red deer. Sarcocystis entzerothi was reported in red deer for the first time. Previously this species was shown to use sika deer as well as roe deer and fallow deer as an intermediate host. Based on cox1, with the addition of the current data, altogether 13 Sarcocystis species have so far been shown to use red deer as an intermediate host. Species detected in red deer demonstrated considerable differences in intraspecific genetic variation at cox1. Genetic distances between different samples of S. hjorti and S. linearis were calculated using principal coordinates analysis (PCoA), implying molecular divergence of same Sarcocystis species using different hosts in the same geographical area and divergence of those employing same intermediate host species from different areas.     

Sensitive Real-Time PCR Detection of Pathogenic Leptospira spp. and a Comparison of Nucleic Acid Amplification Methods for the Diagnosis of Leptospirosis

Background

Bacteria of the genus Leptospira, the causative agents of leptospirosis, are categorized into pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. However, the benefit of using a clinical diagnostic that is specific for pathogenic species remains unclear. In this study, we present the development of a real-time PCR (rtPCR) for the detection of pathogenic Leptospira (the pathogenic rtPCR), and we perform a comparison of the pathogenic rtPCR with a published assay that detects all Leptospira species [the undifferentiated febrile illness (UFI) assay] and a reference 16S Leptospira rtPCR, which was originally designed to detect pathogenic species.

Methodology/Principal Findings

For the pathogenic rtPCR, a new hydrolysis probe was designed for use with primers from the UFI assay, which targets the 16S gene. The pathogenic rtPCR detected Leptospira DNA in 37/37 cultured isolates from 5 pathogenic and one intermediate species. Two strains of the non-pathogenic L. biflexa produced no signal. Clinical samples from 65 patients with suspected leptospirosis were then tested using the pathogenic rtPCR and a reference Leptospira 16S rtPCR. All 65 samples had tested positive for Leptospira using the UFI assay; 62 (95.4%) samples tested positive using the pathogenic rtPCR (p = 0.24). Only 24 (36.9%) samples tested positive in the reference 16S rtPCR (p<0.0001 for comparison with the pathogenic rtPCR and UFI assays). Amplicon sequencing confirmed the detection of pathogenic Leptospira species in 49/50 cases, including 3 cases that were only detected using the UFI assay.

Conclusions/Significance

The pathogenic rtPCR displayed similar sensitivity to the UFI assay when testing clinical specimens with no difference in specificity. Both assays proved significantly more sensitive than a real-time molecular test used for comparison. Future studies are needed to investigate the clinical and epidemiologic significance of more sensitive Leptospira detection using these tests.     

The rearranged mitochondrial genome of Podagrion sp. (Hymenoptera: Torymidae), a parasitoid wasp of mantis

The complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome of Podagrion sp. (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) is described. The mitogenome was 15,845 bp in size, and contained typical sets of mitochondrial genes. The base composition of the Podagrion sp. mitogenome was also biased toward A + T bases (81.8%). The mitochondrial genome of Podagrion sp. has a weak AT skew (0.07) and a strong GC skew (?0.26). Podagrion sp. exhibits a novel rearrangement compared with the ancestral order, including six protein-coding genes (nad3, cox3, atp6, atp8, cox2 and cox1), which have inverted to the minor strand from the major strand. The A + T-rich region of Podagrion sp., which is located between trnN and trnI, have five tandem repeats. The apomorphic rearrangements, including the conserved block “cox3-atp6-atp8-cox2-cox1-nad5-nad4-nad4l-nad6-cob” and the special locations of trnV and trnA, were mapped onto the phylogeny of Proctotrupomorpha.     

Buffering role of the intertidal anemone Anthopleura aureoradiata in cercarial transmission from snails to crabs

In nature, parasite transmission from one host to the next takes place within complex biotic communities where non-host organisms can reduce transmission rates, for instance by preying on infective stages. We experimentally investigated the impact of four very different non-host organisms on the transmission of the microphallid trematode Maritrema novaezealandensis from its snail first intermediate host to its crustacean second intermediate host. We show that in laboratory mesocosms, accumulation of parasites in juvenile stalk-eyed mud crabs, Macrophthalmus hirtipes (Ocypodidae), was not reduced in the presence of cockles, Austrovenus stutchburyi, barnacles, Balanus sp., or the algae Enteromorpha spp., three organisms whose feeding mode or general abundance could negatively impact the parasite's infective stages (cercariae). In contrast, the presence of the anemone Anthopleura aureoradiata in the mesocosms caused a more than 4-fold reduction in the number of parasites acquired by crabs when compared to control mesocosms. Observations on fluorescent-dyed cercariae confirmed that they are ingested by anemones. Given the often high densities of anemones on mudflats, they may represent an important regulator of the abundance of M. novaezealandensis, and thus of the impact of this parasite on its hosts. These anemones may decrease cercarial transmission for many other trematode species as well. Our results stress the need for studies of parasite transmission in natural contexts rather than under simplified laboratory conditions.     

The Parasite Moniliformis moniliformis Alters the Escape Response of its Cockroach Host Periplaneta americana

The immature stages of some parasites live in prey animals (intermediate hosts) and only reach reproductive maturity when they are eaten by final host predators. Some of these parasites alter intermediate host behavior in ways that increase the likelihood of predation (parasite transmission). Using the acanthocephalan (Moniliformis moniliformis) in the cockroach (Periplaneta americana), we show that infected cockroaches experienced a decrease in wind-evoked escape responses, a predator avoidance behavior, that consisted of fewer escape responses, longer latency and higher threshold for escape behavior. We found no correlates of the impairment of the escape behavior in the abdominal portion of the escape neuronal circuitry. This study demonstrates a parasite-induced alteration of a behavior dedicated to predator avoidance.     

Dynamics of a parasite assemblage of the Vermilion Rockfish Sebastes miniatus from northwestern Baja California,México

A parasite assemblage of Sebastes miniatus from northwestern Baja California, México, was composed of a total of 12 species: five ectoparasites (two monogeneans and three parasitic copepods) and seven endoparasites (two digeneans, one cestode, three nematodes, and one acanthocephala). Five of these parasites constituted new genera records to the genus Sebastes, and nine were new geographic records. The most abundant species were the endoparasites Parabothriocephalus sagitticeps, Hysterothylacium sp., and Anisakis sp., and the specific richness ranged from 1 to 8 parasite species per host. The most important parasite species in terms of prevalence were Microcotyle sebastis (93 %) and Anisakis sp. (92 %). The mean abundance of parasites found in S. miniatus showed significant variations over the year, with maximum values (31.7 individuals/host) in August, and minimum (0.39 individuals/host) in February. P. sagitticeps showed the highest mean intensity of infection (190.4 parasites/host), followed by Anisakis sp. (127.2 parasites/host) and Hysterothylacium sp. (46.6 parasites/host). The presence of larval stages of the nematodes Anisakis, Pseudoterranova, and Hysterothylacium is particularly important due to their high abundance and prevalence and because they may represent a human health risk (anisakiasis). Rockfishes (family Scorpaenidae) of the genus Sebastes constitute one of the most important groundfish resources in the American and Mexican northern Pacific Ocean, both for recreational and for the commercial fisheries of California and Baja California. These rockfish species makes up a substantial part of the Mexican cuisine.