Identification of Blood Parasites in Individuals from Six Families of Freshwater Turtles

AbstractDiseases can play a role in species decline. Among them, haemosporidian parasites, vector-transmitted protozoan parasites, are known to constitute a risk for different avian species. However, the magnitude of haemosporidian infection in wild columbiform birds, including strongly decreasing European turtle doves, is largely unknown. We examined the prevalence and diversity of haemosporidian parasites Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon and subgenera Haemoproteus and Parahaemoproteus in six species of the order Columbiformes during breeding season and migration by applying nested PCR, one-step multiplex PCR assay and microscopy. We detected infections in 109 of the 259 screened individuals (42%), including 15 distinct haemosporidian mitochondrial cytochrome b lineages, representing five H. (Haemoproteus), two H. (Parahaemoproteus), five Leucocytozoon and three Plasmodium lineages. Five of these lineages have never been described before. We discriminated between single and mixed infections and determined host species-specific prevalence for each parasite genus. Observed differences among sampled host species are discussed with reference to behavioural characteristics, including nesting and migration strategy. Our results support previous suggestions that migratory birds have a higher prevalence and diversity of blood parasites than resident or short-distance migratory species. A phylogenetic reconstruction provided evidence for H. (Haemoproteus) as well as H. (Parahaemoproteus) infections in columbiform birds. Based on microscopic examination, we quantified parasitemia, indicating the probability of negative effects on the host. This study provides a large-scale baseline description of haemosporidian infections of wild birds belonging to the order Columbiformes sampled in the northern hemisphere. The results enable the monitoring of future changes in parasite transmission areas, distribution and diversity associated with global change, posing a potential risk for declining avian species as the European turtle dove.

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Freshwater turtles of the TransFly region of Papua New Guinea - notes on diversity, distribution, reproduction, harvest and trade

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr05087 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 373 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Arthur Georges ◽

Fiorenzo Guarino ◽

Biatus Bito

Keyword(s):

Papua New Guinea ◽

New Guinea ◽

Management Plan ◽

Transport Infrastructure ◽

Sufficient Information ◽

Freshwater Turtles ◽

Demographic Information ◽

Turtle Species ◽

Western Province ◽

High Diversity

The Chelidae is a family of side-necked turtles restricted in distribution to South America and Australasia. While their biology in Australia is reasonably well known, species in New Guinea are very poorly known despite high diversity, especially in the southern lowlands. In this paper, we report on the diversity, distribution, habitat and reproductive biology of the freshwater turtles of the TransFly region of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, with special emphasis on reproduction of Emydura subglobosa, Elseya branderhorsti and Elseya novaeguineae. Seven species were captured, with reliable records of an eighth. A key to the freshwater turtles of the TransFly region is provided. Harvest methods, consumption, and trade in turtles by the TransFly communities are documented. There is mounting pressure to take advantage of revenue opportunities afforded by the Asian turtle trade, but this is impeded by lack of transport infrastructure. There is also insufficient demographic information on any New Guinean turtle species to make a reasoned judgment on the level of harvest that would be sustainable. Nor is there sufficient information on captive rearing for most species, and where it is available it is not accessible by local villagers. These knowledge gaps need to be addressed and factored into a management plan that is implemented before local communities can capitalise on the commercial opportunities provided by the turtle fauna without risking collapse of the resource and the implications for their concurrent subsistence economy that would follow.

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Community Characteristics of Sympatric Freshwater Turtles from Savannah Waterbodies in Ghana

Wetlands ◽

10.1007/s13157-021-01459-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 41 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Suleman B. Gbewaa ◽

S. Kobby Oppong ◽

Brian D. Horne ◽

Paul Tehoda ◽

Fabio Petrozzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Freshwater Turtles ◽

Community Characteristics

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Blood parasites of bird communities in Sri Lanka and their mosquito vectors

Parasitology Research ◽

10.1007/s00436-021-07049-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 120 (2) ◽

pp. 693-703

Author(s):

W. G. D. Chathuranga ◽

B. R. Fernando ◽

T. C. Weereratne ◽

S. H. P. P. Karunaratne ◽

W. A. Priyanka P. De Silva

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Bird Communities ◽

Blood Parasites ◽

Mosquito Vectors

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Plastic ingestion by freshwater turtles: a review and call to action

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-84846-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Adam G. Clause ◽

Aaron J. Celestian ◽

Gregory B. Pauly

Keyword(s):

Marine Species ◽

Marine Turtle ◽

Freshwater Turtle ◽

Freshwater Turtles ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Potential Threat ◽

Implementation Quality ◽

Turtle Species ◽

Marine Turtles ◽

Conservation Concern

AbstractPlastic pollution, and especially plastic ingestion by animals, is a serious global issue. This problem is well documented in marine systems, but it is relatively understudied in freshwater systems. For turtles, it is unknown how plastic ingestion compares between marine and non-marine species. We review the relevant turtle dietary literature, and find that plastic ingestion is reported for all 7 marine turtle species, but only 5 of 352 non-marine turtle species. In the last 10 years, despite marine turtles representing just 2% of all turtle species, almost 50% of relevant turtle dietary studies involved only marine turtles. These results suggest that the potential threat of plastic ingestion is poorly studied in non-marine turtles. We also examine plastic ingestion frequency in a freshwater turtle population, finding that 7.7% of 65 turtles had ingested plastic. However, plastic-resembling organic material would have inflated our frequency results up to 40% higher were it not for verification using Raman spectroscopy. Additionally, we showcase how non-native turtles can be used as a proxy for understanding the potential for plastic ingestion by co-occurring native turtles of conservation concern. We conclude with recommendations for how scientists studying non-marine turtles can improve the implementation, quality, and discoverability of plastic ingestion research.

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Lankesterella (Apicomplexa, Lankesterellidae) Blood Parasites of Passeriform Birds: Prevalence, Molecular and Morphological Characterization, with Notes on Sporozoite Persistence In Vivo and Development In Vitro

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11051451 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1451

Author(s):

Carolina Romeiro Fernandes Chagas ◽

Josef Harl ◽

Vytautas Preikša ◽

Dovilė Bukauskaitė ◽

Mikas Ilgūnas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Morphological Characterization ◽

Life Cycles ◽

Diagnostic Methods ◽

Host Cells ◽

Blood Parasites ◽

Serinus Canaria ◽

Long Time ◽

Development In Vitro

Recent studies confirmed that some Hepatozoon-like blood parasites (Apicomplexa) of birds are closely related to the amphibian parasite Lankesterella minima. Little is known about the biology of these pathogens in birds, including their distribution, life cycles, specificity, vectors, and molecular characterization. Using blood samples of 641 birds from 16 species, we (i) determined the prevalence and molecular diversity of Lankesterella parasites in naturally infected birds; (ii) investigated the development of Lankesterella kabeeni in laboratory-reared mosquitoes, Culex pipiens forma molestus and Aedes aegypti; and (iii) tested experimentally the susceptibility of domestic canaries, Serinus canaria, to this parasite. This study combined molecular and morphological diagnostic methods and determined 11% prevalence of Lankesterella parasites in Acrocephalidae birds; 16 Lankesterella lineages with a certain degree of host specificity and two new species (Lankesterella vacuolata n. sp. and Lankesterella macrovacuolata n. sp.) were found and characterized. Lankesterella kabeeni (formerly Hepatozoon kabeeni) was re-described. Serinus canaria were resistant after various experimental exposures. Lankesterella sporozoites rapidly escaped from host cells in vitro. Sporozoites persisted for a long time in infected mosquitoes (up to 42 days post exposure). Our study demonstrated a high diversity of Lankesterella parasites in birds, and showed that several avian Hepatozoon-like parasites, in fact, belong to Lankesterella genus.

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Invasive lizard has fewer parasites than native congener

Parasitology Research ◽

10.1007/s00436-021-07233-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Beatriz Tomé ◽

D. James Harris ◽

Ana Perera ◽

Isabel Damas-Moreira

Keyword(s):

18S Rrna ◽

Blood Parasites ◽

Average Intensity ◽

Invasive Potential ◽

Lizard Species ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Podarcis Siculus ◽

Species Establishment ◽

Low Levels ◽

Italian Wall Lizard

AbstractInvasive species can carry parasites to introduced locations, which may be key to understand the success or failure of species establishment and the invasive potential of introduced species. We compared the prevalence and infection levels of haemogregarine blood parasites between two sympatric congeneric species in Lisbon, Portugal: the invasive Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) and the native green Iberian wall lizard (Podarcis virescens). The two species had significant differences in their infection levels: while P. virescens had high prevalence of infection (69.0%), only one individual of P. siculus was infected (3.7%), and while P. virescens exhibited an average intensity of 1.36%, the infected P. siculus individual had an infection rate of only 0.04%. Genetic analyses of 18S rRNA identified two different haemogregarine haplotypes in P. virescens. Due to the low levels of infection, we were not able to amplify parasite DNA from the infected P. siculus individual, although it was morphologically similar to those found in P. virescens. Since other studies also reported low levels of parasites in P. siculus, we hypothesize that this general lack of parasites could be one of the factors contributing to its competitive advantage over native lizard species and introduction success.

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