scholarly journals Migratory routes, domesticated birds and cercarial dermatitis: the distribution of Trichobilharzia franki in Northern Iran

Parasite ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Keyhan Ashrafi ◽  
Meysam Sharifdini ◽  
Abbas Darjani ◽  
Sara V. Brant

Background: One of the major migration routes for birds going between Europe and Asia is the Black Sea-Mediterranean route that converges on the Volga Delta, continuing into the area of the Caspian Sea. Cercarial dermatitis is a disorder in humans caused by schistosome trematodes that use aquatic birds and snails as hosts and is prevalent in areas of aquaculture in Northern Iran. Before the disorder can be addressed, it is necessary to determine the etiological agents and their host species. This study aimed to document whether domestic mallards are reservoir hosts and if so, to characterize the species of schistosomes. Previous work has shown that domestic mallards are reservoir hosts for a nasal schistosome. Results: In 32 of 45 domestic mallards (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) (71.1%), the schistosome Trichobilharzia franki, previously reported only from Europe, was found in visceral veins. Morphological and molecular phylogenetic analysis confirmed the species designation. These findings extend the range of T. franki from Europe to Eurasia. Conclusion: The occurrence of cercarial dermatitis in Iran is high in areas of aquaculture. Previous studies in the area have shown that domestic mallards are reservoir hosts of T. regenti, a nasal schistosome and T. franki, as shown in this study. The genetic results support the conclusion that populations of T. franki from Iran are not differentiated from populations in Europe. Therefore, the schistosomes are distributed with their migratory duck hosts, maintaining the gene flow across populations with compatible snail hosts in Iran.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Költringer ◽  
Thomas Stevens ◽  
Martin Lindner ◽  
Yunus Baykal ◽  
Redzhep Kurbanov

<p>The Black Sea-Caspian Sea region is a vast and geomorphologically variable area where sea level changes, large rivers and their migration, and numerous interacting climate systems and aeolian regimes lead to a highly dynamic and complex situation of sediment supply and reworking. The area is blanketed by extensive loessic and sandy aeolian deposits, extending from northern Iran, through the Caucasus piedmont, Caspian lowland, and into the Crimea and East European Plain, as well as marine, fluvial and alluvial sediments. While loess deposits are especially extensive adjacent to major rivers such as the Volga, Don and Dnieper, the provenance, transport and nature of loess in this complex and highly dynamic environment remains poorly known.</p><p>Both, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea experienced several transgressive and regressive phases during the Pleistocene, with temporary connections occurring over the Manych passage and resulting in the formation of marine terraces over a wide area, which are dry at present. The sea levels of the Caspian and Black seas and long-range north to south sediment transport are heavily influenced by the great rivers draining the previously glaciated East European Plain, the Volga, Don and Dnieper. In addition, the Black Sea and Caspian Sea are surrounded by mountain ranges, with the Carpathians in the west, the North Anatolian Mountains south of the Black Sea, the Crimea-Caucasus orogen and the Alborz mountains extending from northeast of the Black Sea to south of the Caspian Sea, all of which may act as sediment source regions. Furthermore, more distal orogens lying to the east, such as the Ural, Altai, Pamir and Kopet-Dag, and their palaeo-drainage systems, also represent potential sediment source areas for the Caspian Sea basin. The Karakum desert lying to the east of the south Caspian combines the potential of being a sediment sink for material from these mountains, as well as a secondary source for the Caspian Sea and the large loess area in northern Iran.<br>Here we apply U-Pb dating of detrital zircons to constrain the major sediment generating regions in this large area, transport pathways, and to further address the implications for sediment generation and cycling. In addition to loess, we aim to constrain the sediment transport pathways both for fluvial, marine and aeolian systems more generally, and to reconstruct the network of sediment routing in the Black Sea-Caspian Sea region. Our results reveal great spatial variability in zircon provenance and indicate the contribution of multiple source regions and transport pathways for most analysed samples and sites. Rivers have the strongest control on sediment erosion and distribution and are also in control of aeolian deposits, while not much sediment mixing seems to occur within the sea basins.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 117 (12) ◽  
pp. 3821-3833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyhan Ashrafi ◽  
Alireza Nouroosta ◽  
Meysam Sharifdini ◽  
Mohammad Reza Mahmoudi ◽  
Behnaz Rahmati ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-382
Author(s):  
Oleksij Fomin ◽  
Alyona Lovska ◽  
Anatolii Horban

Sustainable development of the transport industry can be provided through the introduction of combined transport systems. And one of the most promising ones is the train ferry transport system which combines railway and marine transport facilities. The article deals with the analysis and systematization of the data on the historical development of train ferry routes and describes the background for the construction of train ferry routes and their advantages over other combined transport types. It also deals with the basic features of the train ferries operating on the main international train ferry routes. The study is concerned with both sea routes and routes across rivers and lakes. The article shows the role of train ferry routes in the improvement of a national economy, and in the provision of the military defense, as it was described by Vinogradov at the example of Saratovskaya Pereprava (route) and by Karakashly and Shklyaruk at the example of the lighter Ishimbay which was loaded from the side. The authors have analyzed the development of the train ferry routes serviced by the ice-breaking train ferries Baikal across Lake Baikal, and the ferries Sakhalin linked mainland Russia and Sakhalin Island. The article deals with the peculiarities of transportation by trains ferries in the USA, Japan, Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Germany, Lithuania, and some other countries, and presents the analysis of the operational features of Ukrainian train ferries which connect Ukraine with Bulgaria, Georgia, and Turkey. Besides, the article describes some peculiarities of the loading and transportation of passenger trains by train ferries. The study deals with structural peculiarities, and processing technology used for modern train ferries operating across the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Baltic Sea. The research is based on the analysis of works by Egorov (the Marine Engineering Bureau, Ukraine). The research emphasizes the importance of train ferry transportation for the sustainable development of national economies including the economy of Ukraine.


Author(s):  
Vladimir I. Zui ◽  
Siamak Mansouri Far Far

The Caspian Sea and adjacent areas form the vast oil and gas-bearing megabasin. It consists of North Caspian, Middle Caspian, and South Caspian sedimentary basins. The granite-metamorphic basement of the basins becomes from north to south younger in the direction from Early Precambrian to Early Cimmerian age. It represents a transitional zone from the southern edge of the East European Craton to Alpine folding. Geothermal investigations have been carried out both in hundreds of deep boreholes and within the Caspian Sea and a few preliminary heat flow maps were published for the Caspian Sea region. All they excluded from consideration the southern part of the region within Iranian national borders. We prepared a new heat flow map including the northern Iran. The purpose of the article is to consider heat flow pattern within the whole Caspian Sea region including its southern part. Two vast high heat flow anomalies above 100 mW/m2 distinguished in the map: within the southwestern Iran and in waters of the Caspian Sea to the North of the Apsheron Ridge, separated by elongated strip of heat flow below 50 –55 mW/m 2 . A general tendency of heat flow from growing was distinguished from the Precambrian crustal blocks of the North Caspian Depression to the Alpine folding within the territory of Iran. Analysis of the heat flow pattern is discussed and two heat flow density profiles were compiled.


Author(s):  
Miklós Sárközy

The provinces of Northern Iran, the region south of the Caspian Sea, had a particular role in the Arab conquest of Iran. Their geographical isolation, mountainous regions, steamy and often intolerable sub-Mediterranean climate and thick forests caused many difficulties for the early Muslim conquerors in the seventh century ad. The ʿAbbāsid empire could only penetrate into the mountains of Ṭabaristān and the valleys of Māzandarān in the second half of the eighth century. In this chapter, I analyse some legends concerning the early Islamic period of the central provinces of the Caspian regions Ṭabaristān and Māzandarān. On the basis of some of the evidence, it seems that these stories could be linked with the myths of the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire – that of the Sāsānians.


2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEVEN W. EVANS ◽  
H. BOUWMAN

SummaryThe Blue Swallow Hirundo atrocaerulea is restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, its population size previously estimated at fewer than 1,500 pairs, and is classified as Vulnerable. A better understanding of its current distributional range, population size, protection status and migration routes would improve our ability to conserve the species and the grassland and wetland habitat on which it depends. We now estimate that the Blue Swallow population in the 1850s may have numbered between 1,560 and 2,300 pairs. Based on an assessment of available data, we now estimate the total current Blue Swallow population at 1,006 pairs or 2,012 individuals, an estimated 36–56% decline over the last 150 years. There may be three separate Blue Swallow sub-populations and seven separate migratory routes between their breeding and non-breeding grounds. The Blue Swallow’s range in South Africa and Swaziland has contracted by 74%. The majority of Blue Swallows occupy unprotected areas on their non-breeding grounds in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya. The Blue Swallow population in Africa will continue to decline unless the causes of reduction in Blue Swallow habitat quantity and quality can be stopped and sufficient and additional habitat set aside to sustain viable Blue Swallow populations throughout their range.


Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4369 (3) ◽  
pp. 406 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAJID PEDRAM ◽  
MAHYA SOLEYMANZADEH ◽  
EBRAHIM POURJAM ◽  
MAHYAR MOBASSERI

Malenchus geraerti n. sp., recovered from natural regions of northern Iran, is described and illustrated based on morphological, morphometric and molecular data. The new species is characterized by having females with a short body, an anteriorly wide S-shaped amphidial opening narrowing posteriorly, cuticle with prominent annuli, lateral field a plain band with smooth margins, muscular metacorpus with well-developed valve and corresponding plates, spermatheca filled with small spheroid sperm cells, vulva sunken in body with large epiptygma and no flap, and conical tail tapering gradually to a more or less pointed tip. Males of the new species are characterized by having a short body, tylenchoid spicules, adcloacal bursa with smooth margin and tail similar to that of the female. Morphologically, the new species is similar to five known species of the genus: M. fusiformis, M. machadoi, M. pachycephalus, M. solovjovae and M. undulatus. It most closely resembles M. pachycephalus, but as a cryptic species it can be differentiated using morphological and molecular characteristics. Comparisons with the four other aforementioned species are also discussed. Molecular phylogenetic studies using partial sequences of small and large subunit ribosomal DNA fragments reveal that the new species forms a clade with the species M. neosulcus in the small subunit (SSU) rDNA, and two species of Lelenchus in the large subunit (LSU) rDNA tree. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 723-730
Author(s):  
Enayatollah Homaie Rad ◽  
Shahrokh Yousefzadeh-Chabok ◽  
Zahra Mohtasham-Amiri ◽  
Naeima Khodadadi-Hasankiadeh ◽  
Ali Davoudi-Kiakalayeh ◽  
...  

Abstract Driving in rain is very dangerous, and drivers seem not to drive properly whenever it rains. In such situations, the risk of driving increases on rainy days, especially after a prolonged dry period. This would be a problem for drivers steering on slippery roads. In this study, the effect of dry spells on road traffic accidents and resulting mortality in Rasht, Iran, located in the southern margin of the Caspian Sea, in a 3-yr period from 21 March 2014 to 19 March 2017 was examined using time series patterns. The results of the study showed that the first day after a dry spell had the greatest impact on road accidents and resulting injuries and deaths. It was also found that with increased length of a dry spell, the risk of accidents and related deaths and injuries rises.


Nematology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majid Pedram ◽  
Ali Roshan-Bakhsh ◽  
Ebrahim Pourjam ◽  
Mohammad Reza Atighi ◽  
Wilfrida Decraemer ◽  
...  

Trichodorus variabilis, recovered from three separate locations in natural forests of northern Iran, was studied using morphological, morphometric and molecular data. Variation in position of the ventromedian cervical papillae (CP1 and CP2) with respect to the onchiostyle base in the resting position, and spicule characters (having or lacking striation in distal blade region and bristles in proximal blade region) were observed. Variation was also observed in the nature of the pharyngo-intestinal junction (offset to slight overlapping). The secretory-excretory pore of females also showed slight variation in placement. Molecular phylogenetic studies, using partial 28S rDNA D2-D3 sequences of three studied populations and one sequenced isolate of the species from Greece, revealed T. variabilis has variation in the sequences of this genomic fragment. The similarity percent of four sequences ranged from 96.7 to 99.7%. The species was found for the first time outside of Greece, the country from which it was originally described. A newly recovered population of T. persicus, originally described from Iran, was also included in the molecular phylogenetic analyses.


2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Shiganova ◽  
E. I. Musaeva ◽  
L. A. Pautova ◽  
Yu. V. Bulgakova

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