| enzymes of androgen biosynthesis in the desert mouse gerbillus dasyurus. | | 1972 | 4402463 |
| multimammate rat (mastomys natalensis), tristram's jird (meriones tristrami) and wagner's gerbil (gerbillus dasyurus) as laboratory models of acute neosporosis. | to test the different sensitivity of rodents of the subfamily murinae and gerbillinae, wagner's gerbils (gerbillus dasyurus), tristram's jirds (meriones tristrami) and multimammate rats (mastomys natalensis) were inoculated with neospora caninum tachyzoites. clinical signs of neosporosis appeared in all inoculated animals. histopathological examination confirmed the presence of tachyzoites in brains, lungs, skeletal muscle, myocardium, liver, in serosa of stomach and intestines, and in vesicular ... | 2007 | 17134728 |
| temporal variation in parasite infestation of a host individual: does a parasite-free host remain uninfested permanently? | host individuals not infested by parasites at a given time are either permanently free from parasites or could be infested at other times. we studied temporal variation in the presence or absence of fleas (siphonaptera) on individual rodents of two species (gerbillus dasyurus and acomys cahirinus) and questioned if and how an individual rodent can change its infestation status temporally. change in infestation status by fleas over time was found in 45.5% of g. dasyurus and 35.9% of a. cahirinus. ... | 2006 | 16628454 |
| evidence for a negative fitness-density relationship between parent density and offspring quality for two xenopsylla spp. parasitic on desert mammals. | we tested the hypothesis of negative fitness-density relationships and predicted that an increase in the density of parent fleas would result in lower survival rates and longer development time of pre-imagoes as well as shorter time to death from starvation of newly emerged imagoes. these predictions were experimentally tested on xenopsylla conformis wagner and xenopsylla ramesis rothschild feeding on two rodent species, meriones crassus sundevall or dipodillus dasyurus wagner. survival of larva ... | 2008 | 18498616 |
| geographic variation in body size: the effects of ambient temperature and precipitation. | latitudinal trends in body size have been explained as a response to temperature- or water-related factors, which are predictors of primary production. we used the first principal component calculated from three body parameters (weight, body length and the greatest length of the skull) of a sample of mammals from israel and sinai to determine those species that vary in size geographically, and whether such variation is related to annual rainfall, average minimum january temperature and average m ... | 2006 | 16525785 |
| host specificity and foraging efficiency in blood-sucking parasite: feeding patterns of the flea parapulex chephrenis on two species of desert rodents. | parasite species can adapt to ecological, behavioral, physiological and biochemical traits of a particular host species. the flea parapulex chephrenis occurs on the spiny mouse acomys cahirinus, but does not occur on a co-existing gerbil, gerbillus dasyurus. to test the hypothesis that the host species affects feeding parameters of a host-specific flea, we studied the feeding rate, rate of blood digestion and resistance to starvation of p. chephrenis when feeding on a. cahirinus and g. dasyurus. ... | 2003 | 12739133 |
| annual cycles of four flea species in the central negev desert. | bionomics of fleas (siphonaptera) parasitizing rodent hosts, mostly the gerbil gerbillus dasyurus (wagner) and the jird meriones crassus sundevall (gerbillidae), were investigated in the central negev desert of israel. populations were sampled weekly (by sherman trapping of hosts) from august 2000 to july 2001. among 1055 fleas of nine species captured, four species predominated (94%). two species of pulicidae, xenopsylla dipodilli smit and x. ramesis (rothschild), reproduced perennially, wherea ... | 2002 | 12243227 |
| the ecology of cutaneous leishmaniasis in nizzana, israel: infection patterns in the reservoir host, and epidemiological implications. | we conducted an extensive interdisciplinary study in an emerging focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the western negev desert of israel between july 1998 and february 2000. the aims of the this study were to determine (1) the reservoir hosts, (2) the distribution of the pathogen within the host range, (3) the associations of host, vector, and pathogen within defined habitats, (4) the demographic distribution of the pathogen within the host populations, and (5) to apply the newly acquired epizoot ... | 2002 | 11812490 |
| habitat dependence of a parasite-host relationship: flea (siphonaptera) assemblages in two gerbil species of the negev desert. | flea assemblages of meriones crassus sundevall and gerbillus dasyurus wagner in different habitats in the negev highlands of israel were studied to determine how flea abundance and species composition on the same host change among habitats, and the environmental parameters determining specific composition of flea assemblage. fleas of the same species parasitizing different hosts responded differently to the same set of environmental variables. spatial distribution of fleas on m. crassus was dete ... | 1998 | 9615550 |
| host-habitat relations as an important determinant of spatial distribution of flea assemblages (siphonaptera) on rodents in the negev desert. | we studied flea assemblages on rodents in different habitats of the ramon erosion cirque in the negev desert to examine whether host-habitat relations influence flea spatial distribution. eleven flea species parasitizing 12 rodent species were recorded. there was significant positive relationship between flea species richness and body mass of the host species; no relationships were found between relative richness of flea assemblage and either the number of habitats occupied by the host species o ... | 1997 | 9051922 |
| [helminths of birds and mammals from israel. vi. the taxonomy and ecology of trichostrongylid nematodes (author's transl)]. | thirteen species of trichostronglyloid nematodes have so far been recorded from wild birds and mammals in israel and surrounding territories. three species were found in birds: amidostomum fulicae (rudolphi, 1819) in fulica atra l., 1758, a. acutum (lundahl, 1848) in anas crecca l., 1758 and amidostomum sp. in ceryle rudis l., 1758. ten species, 3 of which are new, were found in small mammals: trichostrongylus colubriformis (giles, 1892) in hystrix indica kerr, 1792; tenorastrongylus josephi n. ... | 1975 | 776059 |
| helminths of birds and mammals of israel. vii. - pneumospirura rodentium n. sp. (pneumospiruridae - thelazioidea). | pneumospirura rodentium a lung parasite of gerbillus dasyurus and meriones crassus is described. p. hainanensis wu and hu, 1938 and metathelazia servalis chabaud and biocca, 1950, have cephalic structures resembling those of p. rodentium. but the three species can be differentiated by the size of spicules, their localization, hosts and geographical distribution. | 1977 | 566075 |
| the effect of larval density on pre-imaginal development in two species of desert fleas. | we studied the effect of density of larvae on pre-imaginal development in 2 flea species (xenopsylla conformis and xenopsylla ramesis) parasitic on 2 desert rodent species (dipodillus dasyurus, adult body mass 20 g and meriones crassus, 80 g). we predicted a decrease in duration of development with an increase in density of larvae. in general, in both flea species, duration of larva-to-pupa development decreased with an increasing larval density. in addition, this stage of development was longer ... | 2010 | 20619065 |
| use it or lose it: reproductive implications of ecological specialization in a haematophagous ectoparasite. | using experimentally induced disruptive selection, we tested two hypotheses regarding the evolution of specialization in parasites. the 'trade-off' hypothesis suggests that adaptation to a specific host may come at the expense of a reduced performance when exploiting another host. the alternative 'relaxed selection' hypothesis suggests that the ability to exploit a given host would deteriorate when becoming obsolete. three replicate populations of a flea xenopsylla ramesis were maintained on eac ... | 2012 | 22587845 |
| desert gerbils affect bacterial composition of soil. | rodents affect soil microbial communities by burrow architecture, diet composition, and foraging behavior. we examined the effect of desert rodents on nitrogen-fixing bacteria (nfb) communities by identifying bacteria colony-forming units (cfu) and measuring nitrogen fixation rates (ara), denitrification (da), and co2 emission in soil from burrows of three gerbil species differing in diets. psammomys obesus is folivorous, meriones crassus is omnivorous, consuming green vegetation and seeds, and ... | 2013 | 23857378 |
| variable effects of host characteristics on species richness of flea infracommunities in rodents from three continents. | we studied the effect of host gender and body mass on species richness of flea infracommunities in nine rodent host species from three biomes (temperate zone of central europe, desert of the middle east and the tropics of east africa). using season- and species-specific generalized linear mixed models and controlling for year-to-year variation, spatial clustering of rodent sampling and over-dispersion of the data, we found inconsistent associations between host characteristics and flea species r ... | 2014 | 24820040 |
| androgen biosynthesis by testicular tissue of the desert rodents, acomys cahirinus and gerbillus dasyurus. | | 1973 | 4737075 |
| photoperiodic responses of four wild-trapped desert rodent species. | the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the photoperiod on reproductive status and body and lipid masses in four egyptian desert rodent species (dipodillus dasyurus, acomys cahirinus, gerbillus andersoni, and gerbillus pyramidum). adult males and females were housed in long days for 11 wk. at that time, one-half of the animals were killed and the remaining animals were moved to short days (sds) for 11 wk. some individuals of gerbillus andersoni and gerbillus pyramidum had access t ... | 1998 | 9843891 |
| energy costs of blood digestion in a host-specific haematophagous parasite. | fleas consume and digest blood from their hosts. we hypothesized that the energy costs of digestion of blood by fleas is dependent on the host species. to test this hypothesis, we studied co2 emission, a measure of energy expenditure, during digestion of a blood meal taken by parapulex chephrenis from a preferred (acomys cahirinus) and a non-preferred (gerbillus dasyurus) host. we predicted that the energy cost of digestion would be lower for a. cahirinus blood than that for g. dasyurus. male an ... | 2005 | 15961735 |
| sex-biased parasitism, seasonality and sexual size dimorphism in desert rodents. | we investigated seasonality of gender differences in the patterns of flea infestation in nine rodent species to test if sex-biased parasitism in terms of mean abundance, species richness, prevalence and the level of aggregation (a) varies among hosts and between seasons, and (b) is linked to sexual size dimorphism. sexual size differences were significant in both summer and winter in acomys cahirinus, gerbillus pyramidum and meriones crassus, and in winter only in acomys russatus, gerbillus dasy ... | 2005 | 16025350 |
| does acquired resistance of rodent hosts affect metabolic rate of fleas? | we studied whether (a) previous infestation of a rodent host with fleas and (b) the reproductive effort of fleas affect the rate of co(2) emission in two flea species, host-specific parapulex chephrenis and host-opportunistic xenopsylla ramesis when feeding on their typical and atypical rodent hosts. we measured the rate of co(2) emission in preovipositing and ovipositing female fleas fed on either pristine or previously infested acomys cahirinus (typical host of p. chephrenis) and dipodillus da ... | 2009 | 19350621 |
| infestation experience of a rodent host and offspring viability of fleas: variation among host-parasite associations. | we studied survival and development of preimagoes and the ability to withstand starvation of adults in two flea species, host-specific parapulex chephrenis and host-opportunistic xenopsylla ramesis, when parent fleas fed on a typical (acomys cahirinus and dipodillus dasyurus, respectively) or an atypical (d. dasyurus and a. cahirinus, respectively) rodent host that either had never been parasitized by fleas (pristine) or had previously been exposed to fleas. we asked whether a repeatedly infeste ... | 2010 | 20853416 |
| ectoparasitism and stress hormones: strategy of host exploitation, common host-parasite history and energetics matter. | parasites are thought to have numerous negative effects on their hosts. these negative effects may be associated with stress in a host. we evaluated the effects of four species of flea ectoparasites (parapulex chephrenis, synosternus cleopatrae, xenopsylla conformis and xenopsylla ramesis) on non-specific responses of eight species of rodents (meriones crassus, gerbillus dasyurus, gerbillus andersoni, gerbillus pyramidum, gerbillus nanus, acomys cahirinus, acomys russatus and mesocricetus auratu ... | 2014 | 24661039 |
| the comparative gastrointestinal morphology of five species of muroid rodents found in saudi arabia. | meriones rex (king jird), meriones libycus (libyan jird), acomys dimidiatus (eastern spiny mouse), acomys cahirinus (egyptian spiny mouse), and dipodillus dasyurus (wagner's dipodil) are five species of small rodents of the superfamily muroidea with distributions in eastern africa, egypt, and the desert regions of the arabian peninsula. water is scarce in these regions and may result in relatively low-digestible food. the aim of the present study is to describe and compare the gastrointestinal t ... | 2014 | 24664865 |
| babesia behnkei sp. nov., a novel babesia species infecting isolated populations of wagner's gerbil, dipodillus dasyurus, from the sinai mountains, egypt. | although a number of new species of babesia/theileria have been described recently, there are still relatively few reports of species from africa. in this study based on the evaluation of morphology and phylogenetic relationships, we describe a novel species from wagner's gerbil, babesia behnkei n. sp. | 2014 | 25487227 |
| Betaherpesvirus sequences in eastern spiny mice and Wagner's dipodils. | Eastern spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus; also known as Sinai spiny mice) have been extensively studied in terms of the influence of parasite load on population size and reproductive fitness. The physical isolation of these rodent populations makes them interesting models for disease interactions in a real-life population as opposed to a laboratory. We identify betaherpesvirus sequences in eastern spiny mice and Wagner's dipodils (Dipodillus dasyurus), species that inhabit dry montane wadis (dry cr ... | 2011 | 22102666 |
| Investigation of Bartonella acquisition and transmission in Xenopsylla ramesis fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae). | Bartonella are emerging and re-emerging pathogens affecting humans and a wide variety of animals including rodents. Horizontal transmission of Bartonella species by different hematophagous vectors is well acknowledged but vertical transmission (from mother to offspring) is questionable and was never explored in fleas. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the rodent flea, Xenopsylla ramesis, can acquire native Bartonella from wild rodents and transmit it transovarially. For this aim, ... | 2011 | 21692752 |
| description of candidatus bartonella fadhilae n. sp. and candidatus bartonella sanaae n. sp. (bartonellaceae) from dipodillus dasyurus and sekeetamys calurus (gerbillinae) from the sinai massif (egypt). | bartonella spp. are parasites of mammalian erythrocytes and endothelial cells, transmitted by blood-feeding arthropod ectoparasites. different species of rodents may constitute the main hosts of bartonella, including several zoonotic species of bartonella. the aim of this study was to identify and compare bartonella species and genotypes isolated from rodent hosts from the south sinai, egypt. prevalence of bartonella infection was assessed in rodents (837 acomys dimidiatus, 73 acomys russatus, 1 ... | 2017 | 28541836 |
| reproductive success in two species of desert fleas: density dependence and host effect. | we tested the hypothesis that a negative fitness-density relationship exists in haematophagous ectoparasites. we studied the effect of flea density on the number of blood meals necessary for starting oviposition and egg production in xenopsylla conformis and xenopsylla ramesis when exploiting two rodent hosts, meriones crassus and gerbillus dasyurus. the number of blood meals taken by a flea prior to first oviposition was similar in both flea species but was dependent on flea density and differe ... | 2007 | 17562885 |
| density dependence of feeding success in haematophagous ectoparasites. | we studied the effect of density on feeding success of 2 fleas, xenopsylla conformis and xenopsylla ramesis, when exploiting rodents meriones crassus and gerbillus dasyurus. we tested 2 alternative hypotheses: (i) that intraspecific interference competition occurs and, thus, feeding success of a flea decreases with an increase in density and (ii) that facilitation via suppression of a host defence system occurs and thus, feeding success of a flea increases with an increase in density. the mean s ... | 2007 | 17445332 |
| postnatal development of synchronous stepping in the gerbil (gerbillus dasyurus). | during the first two postnatal weeks, wagner's gerbil (gerbillus dasyurus) pups employed stepping sequences considered to be more basic than in the later stages of development and displayed alternate stepping of the legs in each girdle. in the third postnatal week, the adult mode of locomotion, the bound, became prominent and synchronous stepping dominated locomotion, gradually replacing alternate stepping. motor performance of the gerbil pups corroborates previous studies in following a develop ... | 1995 | 7699311 |
| rodents and their arthropod ectoparasites in south sinai governorate, egypt. | from the scientific point of research, little attention has been paid to south sinai governorate. in this paper, it was aimed to study the rodent population and their arthropod ectoparasites in three selected areas; st. catherine, wadi sahab and wadi feran. the highest rodent trap index was in st. catherine, followed by wadi sahab and then wadi feran. mus musculus was predominant mainly indoors in the three areas while acomys c. dimidiatus was predominant mainly outdoors. dipodillus dasyurus was ... | 1993 | 8308354 |
| systematics, distribution and ecological analysis of rodents in jordan. | distributional and ecological data were given to all rodents of jordan. the rodent fauna of jordan consists of 28 species with 20 genera in eight families (cricetidae, dipodidae, gliridae, hystricidae, muridae, myocastoridae, sciuridae,and spalacidae), including four introduced species.keys for families and species were provided, along with diagnosis for each species and cranial illustrations for most species. habitat preference and zoogeographic affinities of rodents in jordan wereanalyzed, as ... | 2018 | 29690341 |
| density-dependent host selection in ectoparasites: an application of isodar theory to fleas parasitizing rodents. | parasites should make the same decisions that every animal makes regarding fitness reward. they can maximize reproductive success by selection of those habitats that guarantee the greatest fitness output. we consider the host population as a habitat of a parasite population. consequently, hosts (=habitats) that differ quantitatively or qualitatively will support different numbers of parasites. the nature of habitat selection can be detected by isodars, lines along which habitat selection yields ... | 2003 | 12647144 |
| immune responses to fleas in two rodent species differing in natural prevalence of infestation and diversity of flea assemblages. | we studied in vivo immune response to fleas in two gerbils, gerbillus dasyurus and gerbillus andersoni allenbyi, which differed in their natural species richness of flea assemblages and prevalence of infestation. g.dasyurus is parasitized naturally by several flea species, but the prevalence of infestation is low, whereas g. a. allenbyi is parasitized by a single flea species, with high prevalence of infestation. we hypothesized that immunological parameters and the cell-mediated specific immune ... | 2004 | 15372230 |
| postnatal development of body architecture and gait in several rodent species. | observations on five species of rodents, vole (microtus socialis), gerbil (gerbillus dasyurus), jird (meriones tristrami), dormouse (eliomys melanurus) and jerboa (jaculus orientalis), revealed that, during the period when their neonates share a matching morphology, they also share the same forms of quadruped locomotion (gaits). the order in which the different gaits develop is similar in all species, beginning with the basic gaits of lateral walk and trot. gaits and body morphology do not under ... | 1997 | 9172418 |
| first molecular detection and identification of leishmania species in small wild rodents from turkey. | leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease infecting animals and humans. two clinical forms (visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis) and four species are reported to be present in turkey. several studies have investigated canine and human leishmaniasis in turkey but no study was performed to screen the infection among wild rodents, so far. the present study aims to investigate the role of small wild rodents as reservoir animals for leishmania spp. in different regions of turkey. formalin-preserved tissu ... | 2020 | 32404216 |