A Note Concerning Associates of the Scavenging Amphipod Orchomene Nanus (Lysianassoidea)

Author(s):  
P.G. Moore ◽  
Y.M. Wong

The parasitic copepod Sphaeronella? callisomae, usually a single female, was occasionally found in the brood pouch of the amphipod Orchomene nanus. It is possible that this parasite consumes its host's eggs. Infected female hosts were significantly smaller than uninfected ones, so the copepod may retard host growth (or select young female hosts). Other associates (ciliates) were found in the body cavity and epizooitically on the host's gill lamellae.Extensive collections of Orchomene nanus (Krøyer) (Crustacea: Amphipoda) have been made year-round (April 1993 to April 1994) using funnel-traps baited with crushed shore crabs (Carcinus maenas (L.)) deployed overnight (soak time 17 h) in the shallow sublittoral (5–6 m depth) at Keppel Bight, Millport (54°45·75′N 4°54·48′W: for further details, see Moore & Wong, 1995, in press a,b).The presence of nicothoid copepods (tentatively identified by Mr M. O'Reilly, Clyde River Purification Board, as Sphaeronella? callisomae Scott; an inadequately described species, see Gotto, 1993) in the brood pouch of this amphipod were recorded routinely. At least two species of ciliates were also encountered. A sessile ciliate protozoan (?Lagenophrys sp.) occurred commonly as an epizoite of O. nanus branchiae (Figure 1A–D); and unidentified parasitic ciliates, possibly of three species, occurred in the body cavity (Figure 1E, F).The incidence of parasitization of female O. nanus with S. ?callisomae was very low (0·81%; 8/990). There was only ever a single mature female copepod per host, although instances occurred of multiple infestations with nauplii or copepodites. Two female O. nanus were recorded with a female nicothoid coexisting with the amphipod's own eggs inside the brood pouch.

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7845
Author(s):  
Allan T. Souza ◽  
Felipe O. Ribas ◽  
João F. Moura ◽  
Claudia Moreira ◽  
Joana Campos ◽  
...  

Intraspecific agonistic interactions are widespread across the animal kingdom, with many individual morphological and physiological characteristics playing important roles in the fate of disputes. Additionally, changes to environmental conditions can influence the outcomes of animal contests. The shore crab (Carcinus maenas) is a globally distributed species, present in numerous coastal and estuarine temperate systems around the world. Although shore crabs are highly tolerant to changes in temperature, this parameter has important physiological effects on the species’ ecology, while its effects on behavior are not fully understood. Our study aims to investigate how different individual characteristics (such as sex, color morphotype, carapace and chela morphology) and temperature conditions affect the dyadic interactions between shore crabs when disputing food resources. In general, the differences in carapace width between opponents, their sexes, color morphotypes and the temperature conditions interacted and were important predictors of the contest fate. We found that the body size and color morphotype of C. maenas determined the fate of dyadic disputes. However, the higher temperatures disrupted the well-established dominance of the larger red color morphotype individuals. Overall, the agonistic contest results suggest higher plasticity than previously acknowledged.


Parasitology ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. T. Crompton ◽  
P. J. Whitfield

By a variety of microscopical techniques, an initial survey has been made of the functional organization of ovarian balls from mature, inseminated femaleMoniliformis dubiusandPolymorphus minutus.On the basis of evidence from observations made with the transmission electron microscope, we have concluded that the ovarian ball consists of three components; these are two separate, multinucleate syncytia and a cellular zone. The inner region is considered to be an oogonial syncytium from which the germ-line cells arise to form the cellular zone. The oogonial syncytium and the cellular elements are embedded in a supporting syncytium which also forms the boundary of the ovarian ball. Details of the ultrastructure of these components, observations on fertilization and a hypothesis to account for the main events occurring in an acanthocephalan ovarian ball are also presented.Acanthocephalans are dioecious parasites which become sexually mature in the alimentary tract of vertebrates. After insemination, individual female worms begin to release embryonated eggs at rates which have been estimated to vary, on average, from 2000 per day in the case ofPolymorphus minutus(Crompton & Whitfield, 1968) to 260000 per day in the case ofMacracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus(Kates, 1944). Irrespective, however, of the species of acanthocephalan and the number of eggs produced, a most interesting mode of ovarian development and multiplication is believed to exist (see Bullock, 1969). Within the female worm, the primordial ovarian tissue gives rise to separate ovaries which are often termed ovarian balls. These in turn give rise to more ovarian balls and the process continues until large numbers have been formed. The ovarian balls of a mature female have no permanent attachment to the tissues of the worm. They are contained in the fluid of the body cavity either freely, or loosely constrained in large membranous chambers known as ligament sacs.Few investigations have been made into the structure and cytology of the ovarian balls of the Acanthocephala. Early observations on the histology of the germ-line constituents of ovarian balls were made by Hamann (1891), Kaiser (1893) and Meyer (1928), each of whom suggested that some of the developing oogonial stages were arranged in a syncytial manner. In a study of the embryology ofP. minutus.Nicholas & Hynes (1963) interpreted preparations of ovarian balls, which had been subjected to the Feulgen reaction, as indicative of syncytial tissue in the central region of the ball. They also recorded their uncertainty about whether an ovarian ball has a bounding membrane or not. More recently, Robinson (1964, 1965) described mitotic and meiotic divisions in oogonia and oocytes from ovarian balls ofMac. hirudinaceusandMoniliformis dubiusand Stranack (1972) included an electron micrograph of part of an ovarian ball ofPomphorhynchus laevisin a description of the nature of the egg envelopes of that species. In this paper, we present a general survey, based largely on evidence obtained with the electron microscope, of the functional organization of the ovarian balls of matureM. dubiusandP. minutus.


2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 324-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Velisek ◽  
Z. Svobodova ◽  
V. Piackova ◽  
L. Novotny ◽  
J. Blahova ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of metribuzin on rainbow trout (<I>Oncorhynchus mykiss</I>). An experimental group of fish was exposed to Sencor 70 WG pesticide product (active substance 70% of metribuzin). The acute semistatical toxicity test lasting 96 h was performed on rainbow trout juveniles. The 96hLC50 value of Sencor 70 WG was 89.3 mg/l. An examination of the haematological and biochemical profile and histopathological tissue examinations were performed on one- to two-year-old rainbow trout after 96 h of exposure to Sencor WG 70 in a concentration of 89.3 mg/l. The experimental group showed significantly lower values (<I>P</I> < 0.01) of plasma total proteins, triacylglycerols, aspartate aminotransferase, ammonia, calcium, lactate, alkaline phosphatase, erythrocyte count, haematocrit and significantly higher (<I>P</I> < 0.01) values of erythrocyte haemoglobin compared to the control group. A significant decrease (<I>P</I> < 0.01) in both the relative and absolute lymphocyte count and a significant increase (<I>P</I> < 0.01) in both the relative and absolute count of neutrophile granulocytes were also recorded in the experimental group. The histopathological examination revealed mild proliferation of goblet cells of the respiratory epithelium of secondary gill lamellae and hyaline degeneration of epithelial cells of the renal tubules of the caudal kidney. This alteration of kidney resulted in hypoproteinaemia, followed by the formation of transudate in the body cavity. The metribuzin-based Sencor WG 70 pesticide product was classified among substances harmful to fish.


1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1569-1576 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Nonnotte ◽  
F. Boitel ◽  
J. P. Truchot

The ultrastructure of gill lamellae was studied in shore crabs, Carcinus maenas, exposed to sublethal (0.5 mg∙L−1) and lethal (2 mg∙L−1) concentrations of waterborne copper for various durations. Oxygen tension, pH, and lactate concentration in arterial blood were determined in parallel studies. Extensive structural alterations involving cellular hyperplasia, vacuolization, and necrosis were found after 5–6 days of exposure to both sublethal and lethal copper levels. This led to considerable thickening of the gill epithelium and reduction of haemolymph spaces, resulting in restriction of respiratory gas exchange as shown by a marked hypoxemia. Ensuing lactacidemia suggests that tissue hypoxia was probably the major effect of the toxicant at lethal levels. In sublethal conditions, partial repair of gill tissue and recovery of normal blood oxygenation and pH were observed after 18 days of exposure.


2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Pina ◽  
Fernanda Russell-Pinto ◽  
Pedro Rodrigues

AbstractMaritrema portucalensis sp. nov. (Digenea, Microphallidae) from Aveiro estuary, northern Portugal, is described on the basis of excysted metacercariae obtained from the gill lamellae of the shore crab Carcinus maenas (L.). M. portucalensis sp. nov. most closely resembles Maritrema subdolum Jägerskiöld, 1909, a species that also frequently uses C. maenas as second intermediate host. The new species differs from M. subdolum in having a narrower body at the level of testes and a smaller ovary and testes. Also, the digestive caeca presented various folds along their length, thickening in the terminal region. Moreover, the body surface was fully covered by tegumental spines provided with several teeth. To complement our morphological characterization and to identify M. portucalensis metacercariae, the ITS1 rDNA region of the cysts isolated from C. maenas was sequenced and compared with the corresponding available sequences of digenean trematodes belonging to the family Microphallidae. Alignments revealed 28 base-pair differences between the query-ITS1 and that of M. subdolum, and more importantly a 100% similarity with the sequence of Microphallidae sp. no. 15 cercaria from the snail Hydrobia ulvae. The last observation allowed us to establish an unequivocal association between cercaria known as Microphallidae sp. no. 15, and the metacercaria of M. portucalensis sp. nov. characterized in this work, contributing decisively to the clarification of its life cycle.


2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Horst Onken ◽  
Sven Riestenpatt

SUMMARYSplit gill lamellae and gill cuticles of shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) adapted to 10 ‰ salinity were mounted in a modified Ussing-type chamber. With NaCl saline on both sides, split gill lamellae generated a short-circuit current (Isc) of –301±16 μA cm–2 at a conductance (Gte) of 40±2 mS cm–2. The net influxes of Na+ and Cl– were 8.3±2.6 and 18.2±2.7 μmol cm–2 h–1, respectively. External amiloride (100 μmol l–1) reduced Gte to approximately 50 % of the original value at unchanged Isc; Cl– fluxes remained unaffected, whereas Na+ fluxes were markedly reduced by 70–80 %. The Isc in the presence of external amiloride was almost completely inhibited by internal ouabain. At a clamp voltage of 50 mV (outside-positive), a positive current was measured at unchanged Gte. Under these conditions, amiloride reduced the current and conductance at half-maximal concentrations of 3.6 and 2.0 μmol l–1, respectively. At outside-positive voltages, but not under short-circuit conditions, external amiloride induced Lorentzian components in the power density spectra. The amiloride-dependent changes in the corner frequency (linear) and of the low-frequency plateau (‘bell-shaped’) were as expected for channel blockade by amiloride with pseudo-first-order kinetics. With an outside-positive clamp voltage of 50 mV across isolated cuticles, a positive cuticular current (Icut) of 25 188±3791 μA cm–2 and a cuticular conductance (Gcut) of 547±76 mS cm–2 were measured. External amiloride reduced Icut and Gcut at half-maximal concentrations of 0.7 and 0.6 μmol l–1, respectively. Amiloride-induced current-noise analysis gave similar results to those observed with split gill lamellae. Ion-substitution experiments with isolated cuticles further support inhibition by external amiloride of the cuticular Na+ conductance of shore crab gills and not amiloride-sensitive transporters (Na+ channels or Na+/H+ antiports) in the apical membrane.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Levy ◽  
Valerio Zupo ◽  
Mirko Mutalipassi ◽  
Emanuele Somma ◽  
Nadia Ruocco ◽  
...  

Hermaphrodite systems offer unique opportunities to study sexual differentiation, due to their high degree of sexual plasticity and to the fact that, unlike gonochoristic systems, the process is not confined to an early developmental stage. In protandric shrimp species, such as Hippolyte inermis and Pandalus platyceros, male differentiation is followed by transformation to femaleness during adulthood. The mechanisms controlling sexual differentiation have not been fully elucidated in crustaceans, but a key role has been attributed to the insulin-like hormone (IAG) produced by the androgenic gland (AG), a crustacean masculine endocrine organ. To uncover further transcriptomic toolkit elements affecting the sexual differentiation of H. inermis, we constructed eye and whole body RNA libraries of four representative stages during its protandric life cycle (immature, male, young female and mature female). The body libraries contained transcripts related to the reproductive system, among others, while the eye libraries contained transcripts related to the X-organ-sinus gland, a central endocrine complex that regulates crustacean reproduction. Binary pattern analysis, performed to mine for genes expressed differentially between the different life stages, yielded 19,605 and 6,175 transcripts with a specific expression pattern in the eye and body, respectively. Prominent sexually biased transcriptomic patterns were recorded for the IAG and vitellogenin genes, representing, respectively, a key factor within the masculine IAG-switch, and a precursor of the yolk protein, typical of feminine reproductive states. These patterns enabled the discovery of novel putative protein-coding transcripts exhibiting sexually biased expression in the H. inermis body and eye transcriptomes of males and females. Homologs to the above novel genes have been found in other decapod crustaceans, and a comparative study, using previously constructed transcriptomic libraries of another protandric shrimp, P. platyceros, showed similar sexually biased results, supporting the notion that such genes, mined from the H. inermis transcriptome, may be universal factors related to reproduction and sexual differentiation and their control in other crustaceans. This study thus demonstrates the potential of transcriptomic studies in protandric species to uncover unexplored layers of the complex crustacean sex-differentiation puzzle.


Parasitology ◽  
1924 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-112
Author(s):  
Edward Hindle

In December, 1922, whilst dissecting a large female example of Bufo regularis, one of my students noticed a cylindrical structure extending along the ventral region of the body-cavity. A careful examination showed that this structure consisted of an elongated sac-like diverticulum of the right lung, containing an almost full-grown specimen of a dipterous larva, which could be seen through the membraneous wall of the diverticulum. The base of the latter, in addition to its point of origin from the lung, was also connected to the dorsal surface of the liver by strands of fibrous tissue, suggesting that the growth had been in existence some considerable time in order to cause such adhesions. Posteriorly, the diverticulum hung freely in the body cavity and extended to the extreme hinder end. Its dimensions were 5·5 cm. in length, by 0·5 cm. in diameter, but tapering towards each extremity.


1962 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 1269-1275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan F. Bronskill

In third and fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti (L.), juveniles of the rhabditoid, DD136, penetrate the blood sinus and cardial epithelium of the proventriculus to enter the body cavity of the host, where they complete their development. By 5 hours, a thick capsule developed about many of the ensheathed immature adults of DD136 within the body cavity of A. aegypti larvae. This rapid defence reaction of the mosquito to DD136, which has both a melanin and a cellular manifestation, occurs both in the exotic mosquito A. aegypti and in the two endemic species tested, Aedes stimulans (Walker) and Aedes trichurus (Dyar). The resistance of A. stimulans to an endemic rhabditoid, possibly of the Diplogasteridae, is also similar. The histological structure of the capsule is not affected during metamorphosis in A. aegypti; however, during histogenesis of adult tissue displacement and (or) distortion of some tissues and organs may be caused by the presence of the capsule within the host's body cavity. The activity of the adult A. aegypti is normal when this distortion or displacement is minor. Though usually encapsulated DD136 are retained within the body cavity of A. aegypti during metamorphosis, sometimes they are partially or completely expelled from the host's body cavity at the time of molting.


1949 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
J. D. SMYTH

1. Plerocercoid larvae of the pseudophyllidean cestode Ligula intestinalis from the body cavity of roach, were cultured in vitro at 40°C. in a variety of saline and nutrient media. About 65% of such cultures were aseptic. 2. During cultivation, larvae produced acid by-products (unidentified) and the pH fell rapidly. 3. The presence of these acid by-products slowed down development, or, if present in sufficient quantity, caused death. 4. In order to obtain development in nutrient media in a period (3 days) comparable to that required in a bird (the normal host) it was necessary to renew the medium 24-hourly. 5. 6% of the eggs produced from a worm cultured in horse serum were fertile. Fertile eggs were never obtained from larvae cultured in any other media. 6. Certain bacterial infections had no apparent detrimental effect on development, but others were toxic. 7. Some larvae underwent development in non-nutrient medium (¾ strength Locke's solution). The exact conditions under which this occurred was not determined. 8. Fragments (3 cm. long), of larvae or larvae with either scolex or posterior half removed, underwent development to the stage of oviposition in nutrient media. 9. Histochemical examination revealed that the plerocercoid larvae were almost fat-free. During cultivation, very large quantities of cytoplasmic fat were produced the quantity being proportional to the duration of cultivation. Fat was produced even under starvation conditions (i.e. during cultivation in saline) and can be considered a metabolic by-product. 10. The fresh plerocercoid contained great quantities of glycogen in the parenchyma and muscle regions. After cultivation in nutrient or saline media, considerable quantities were still present.


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