| seasonal and spatial dynamics of ectoparasite infestation of a threatened reptile, the tuatara (sphenodon punctatus). | the conservation of threatened vertebrate species and their threatened parasites requires an understanding of the factors influencing their distribution and dynamics. this is particularly important for species maintained in conservation reserves at high densities, where increased contact among hosts could lead to increased rates of parasitism. the tuatara (sphenodon punctatus) (reptilia: sphenodontia) is a threatened reptile that persists at high densities in forests (approximately 2700 tuatara/ ... | 2008 | 19120965 |
| [the characteristics of tick species (acari: ixodida) transferred on exotic reptiles to poland]. | some natural and unusual transfers of exotic ticks on hosts have been noticed in poland. reptiles together with migratory birds and migrating mammals, are the groups of vertebrates that transfer unknown tick species to the territory of poland. the majority of exotic reptiles brought to poland for breading and commercial purpose are infested by ticks. therefore the systematic list of ticks as well as their geographical distribution in the world, tick-host specificity, characteristic and morpholog ... | 2010 | 20450006 |
| developmental stages and molecular phylogeny of hepatozoon tuatarae, a parasite infecting the new zealand tuatara, sphenodon punctatus and the tick, amblyomma sphenodonti. | the developmental stages of hepatozoon tuatarae were elucidated in both the tuatara host, sphenodon punctatus and the tick, amblyomma sphenodonti. pcr amplicons from a. sphenodonti samples identified dna matching h. tuatarae. dissection of tick samples showed oogenesis and sporogony occurring in the haemocoel of a. sphenodonti with the average mature oocyst size being 236 x 228 microm. partial sequence data of the parasite's small subunit ribosomal gene, obtained by pcr, was used for phylogeneti ... | 2010 | 20451526 |
| social network structure and parasite infection patterns in a territorial reptile, the tuatara (sphenodon punctatus). | we investigated whether the parasite load of an individual could be predicted by its position in a social network. specifically, we derived social networks in a solitary, territorial reptile (the tuatara, sphenodon punctatus), with links based on the sharing of space, not necessarily synchronously, in overlapping territories. tuatara are infected by ectoparasitic ticks (amblyomma sphenodonti), mites (neotrombicula spp.) and a blood parasite (hepatozoon tuatarae) which is transmitted by the tick. ... | 2010 | 20637210 |
| ecology and dynamics of the blood parasite, hepatozoon tuatarae (apicomplexa), in tuatara (sphenodon punctatus) on stephens island, new zealand. | we explored infection patterns and temporal dynamics of the protozoan blood parasite hepatozoon tuatarae (apicomplexa) infecting the tuatara (sphenodon punctatus), a protected reptile living on stephens island, new zealand. in march 2006, we surveyed tuatara in five study sites to examine spatial variation in infection prevalence, and four times, from may 2005 to november 2006, we recaptured marked individuals within three study sites to examine the temporal dynamics of infection. we also examin ... | 2011 | 21270002 |
| ticks of poland. review of contemporary issues and latest research. | the paper presents current knowledge of ticks occurring in poland, their medical importance, and a review of recent studies implemented in the polish research centres on ticks and their significance in the epidemiology of transmissible diseases. in the polish fauna there are 19 species of ticks (ixodida) recognized as existing permanently in our country: argas reflexus, argas polonicus, carios vespertilionis, ixodes trianguliceps, ixodes arboricola, ixodes crenulatus, ixodes hexagonus, ixodes li ... | 2012 | 23444797 |
| complete mitochondrial genome sequence data provides genetic evidence that the brown dog tick rhipicephalus sanguineus (acari: ixodidae) represents a species complex. | ticks are blood-sucking ectoparasites of great medical and veterinary significance that can transmit bacteria, protozoa, fungi and viruses, and cause a variety of human and animal diseases worldwide. in the present study, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of rhipicephalus sanguineus from china (rsc) and compared with that of r. sanguineus from usa (rsu). nucleotide sequence difference in the full mt genome was 11.23% between rsc and rsu. for the 13 protein-coding genes, compari ... | 2013 | 23630448 |
| systematic revision of the adeleid haemogregarines, with creation of bartazoon n. g., reassignment of hepatozoon argantis garnham, 1954 to hemolivia, and molecular data on hemolivia stellata. | life cycles and molecular data for terrestrial haemogregarines are reviewed in this article. collection material was re-examined: hepatozoon argantis garnham, 1954 in argas brumpti was reassigned to hemolivia as hemolivia argantis (garnham, 1954) n. comb.; parasite dna was extracted from a tick crush on smear of an archived slide of hemolivia stellata in amblyomma rotondatum, then the 18s ssrrna gene was amplified by pcr. a systematic revision of the group is proposed, based on biological life c ... | 2015 | 26551414 |
| networks and the ecology of parasite transmission: a framework for wildlife parasitology. | social network analysis has recently emerged as a popular tool for understanding disease transmission in host populations. although social networks have most extensively been applied to modelling the transmission of diseases through human populations, more recently the method has been applied to wildlife populations. the majority of examples from wildlife involve modelling the transmission of contagious microbes (mainly viruses and bacteria), normally in context of understanding wildlife disease ... | 2013 | 24533342 |
| multiple convergent evolution of arboreal life in oribatid mites indicates the primacy of ecology. | frequent convergent evolution in phylogenetically unrelated taxa points to the importance of ecological factors during evolution, whereas convergent evolution in closely related taxa indicates the importance of favourable pre-existing characters (pre-adaptations). we investigated the transitions to arboreal life in oribatid mites (oribatida, acari), a group of mostly soil-living arthropods. we evaluated which general force-ecological factors, historical constraints or chance-was dominant in the ... | 2009 | 19535377 |
| phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial genomes and nuclear rrna genes of ticks reveals a deep phylogenetic structure within the genus haemaphysalis and further elucidates the polyphyly of the genus amblyomma with respect to amblyomma sphenodonti and amblyomma elaphense. | we sequenced the entire mitochondrial genomes of 3 species of metastriate ticks: haemaphysalis formosensis, h. parva, and amblyomma cajennense. we also sequenced two thirds (ca. 9500bp) of the mitochondrial genomes of h. humerosa and h. hystricis. we used these 5 mitochondrial genome sequences together with the 13 tick mitochondrial genomes we sequenced previously and the 2 tick mitochondrial genomes sequenced by black and roehrdanz (1998), as well as the nuclear rrna genes from 84 ticks and mit ... | 2013 | 23602360 |
| ticks imported to europe with exotic reptiles. | it is known that traded exotic animals carry with them an immense number of associated symbionts, including parasites. reptiles are no exception. most of the imported reptiles originate from tropical countries and their possibility to carry potentially dangerous pathogens is high. according to cites, europe is currently the main reptile importer in the world. despite this, there is no review or analysis available for the risk related to the importation of tick-borne diseases with traded reptile ... | 2015 | 25913453 |
| phylogenetic analysis of ticks (acari: ixodida) using mitochondrial genomes and nuclear rrna genes indicates that the genus amblyomma is polyphyletic. | our understanding of the phylogenetic relationships among tick lineages has been limited by the lack of resolution provided by the most commonly used phylogenetic markers. mitochondrial genomes are increasingly used to address controversial phylogenetic relationships. to date, the complete mitochondrial genomes of eleven tick species have been sequenced; however, only three of these species are metastriate ticks, the most speciose lineage of ticks. in this study, we present the nucleotide sequen ... | 2012 | 22465402 |
| a biological/medical review of alien tick species (acari: ixodida) accidentally transferred to poland. | alien tick species of the genera ixodes, amblyomma, hyalomma and rhipicephalus are sporadically transferred to the territories of the central european countries. a biological-medical review of the following alien tick species transferred to poland is presented: ixodes eldaricus, ixodes festai, amblyomma sphenodonti, amblyomma exornatumn, amblyomma flavomaculatum, amblyomma latum, amblyomma nuttalli, amblyomma quadricavum, amblyomma transversale, amblyomma varanense, hyalomma aegyptium, hyalomma ... | 2014 | 24930246 |