The pattern of plague endemicity in Tanzania is characterized by continuous re-appearance of the disease in some locations, while in other neighbouring villages the disease has never or seldom been observed. To unders...The pattern of plague endemicity in Tanzania is characterized by continuous re-appearance of the disease in some locations, while in other neighbouring villages the disease has never or seldom been observed. To understand the reasons for this pattern, we studied small mammal and flea species composition, diversity and relative abundances in two plague-endemic and two plague-free locations. We asked （a） whether fleas more abundant in plague-endemic locations differ in their characteristic abundance and the degree of their host specificity from fleas more abundant in plague-free locations and （b） whether hosts most abundant in p/ague-endemic locations differ in the diversity of their flea assemblages from hosts most abundant in p/ague-free locations. We characterized （a） each host species by species richness and degree of taxonomic relatedness of its flea assemblages and （b） each flea species by its mean abundance and size, and degree of taxonomic relatedness of its host spectrum and compared their relative abundances between locations. No significant difference between plague-endemic and plague-free locations in either host density or any variable related to flea abundance or diversity was found. However, there was marginally significant effect of taxonomic distinctness of a flea assemblage barboured by a host on its probability to be more abundant in either plague-endemic or plague-free locations. Furthermore, hosts more abundant in plague-endemic locations tended to harbour closely-related fleas. Finally, while opportunistic and specialist fleas were equally distributed in both sets of locations, fleas exploiting distantly-related hosts were found mainly in plague-free locations during the rainy season. We suggest that the observed patterns might arise due to seasonal and spatial differences in local microclimatic conditions and landscape connectivity [ Current Zoology 55 （3） ： 200 - 211, 2009].展开更多
Cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic freshwater systems are a worldwide problem, creating adverse effects for many aquatic organisms by producing toxic mierocystins and deteriorating water quality. In this study, microc...Cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic freshwater systems are a worldwide problem, creating adverse effects for many aquatic organisms by producing toxic mierocystins and deteriorating water quality. In this study, microcystins （MCs） in Microcystis aeruginosa, and Daphnia magna exposed to M. aeruginosa, were analyzed by HPLC-MS, and the effects of M. aeruginosa on D. magna were investigated. When D. magna was exposed to M. aeruginosa for more than 2 h, Microcystin-LR （MC-LR） was detected. When exposed to 1.5× 10^6, 3× 10^6, 0.75× 10^7, and 1.5× 10^7 cell/mL of M. aeruginosa for 96 h, average survival of D. magna for treatments were 23.33%, 33.33%, 13.33%, 16.67%, respectively, which were significantly lower than the average 100% survival in the control group （P 〈 0.05）. The adverse effects ofM. aeruginosa on body length, time for the first brood, brood numbers, gross fecundity, lifespan, and population growth olD. magna were density-dependent. These results suggest that the occurrence of M. aeruginosa blooms could strongly inhibit the population growth of D. magna through depression of survival, individual growth and gross fecundity. In the most serious situations, M. aeruginosa blooms could undermine the food web by eliminating filter-feeding zooplankton, which would destroy the ecological balance of aquaculture water bodies.展开更多
Objective:To investigate the ectoparasite communities on Tupaia belangeri (T. belangeri) in the surrounding areas of Erhai Lake and their potential importance in medical and veterinary science. Methods: Different loca...Objective:To investigate the ectoparasite communities on Tupaia belangeri (T. belangeri) in the surrounding areas of Erhai Lake and their potential importance in medical and veterinary science. Methods: Different locations in surrounding areas of Erhai Lake in Yunnan were selected as the investigation spots. T. belangeri were randomly captured with baited mouse cages and then brought to the laboratory for identification according to their body shape, size and color, and measurements such as the lengths of their body, ear and hind feet. Ectoparasites on them were collected and identified to determine the species under microscope after specimens were mounted on slides, with the clearing and drying process completed. The constituent ratio (C), prevalence (P) and average ectoparasite abundance (A) were used to test the prevalence and density of ectoparasites; Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to test the differences in the abundance and richness of ectoparasites between female and male hosts; Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between ectoparasites and the body parameters of hosts. Results: There was very high species diversity of ectoparasites found on T. belangeri and some species of ectoparasites were reported associated with human diseases. A high proportion (88%) of 107 T. belangeri was found to be infested with ectoparasites. A total of 75 species of ectoparasites on them were collected, including 58 species of chigger mite, 12 species of gamasid mite, 4 species of flea and 1 species of sucking louse. Within this ectoparasite complex, 13 species were previously reported to be vectors of human disease agents. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-tests showed significant differences between male and female T. belangeri in terms of the abundance and richness of total ectoparasites. However, the species richness and abundance of chigger mites, sucking lice, fleas or gamasid mites presented no significant differences between male and female hosts. Spearman correlation analysis showed that none of correlations were observed between host body parameters with abundance and richness of total ectoparasites, chigger mites, suckinglice, fleas or gamatid mites. Conclusion: The results suggest that there is very high species diversity of ectoparasites on T. belangeri, consisting mainly of communities of sucking lice, fleas, chiggers and gamasid mites.展开更多
Predation rate with relation to species, sex and water temperature was tested among four different gammaridean spe- cies： Dikerogammarus villosus, Gammarus roeselii, Gammarus pulex and Gammarus fossarum. Tests were p...Predation rate with relation to species, sex and water temperature was tested among four different gammaridean spe- cies： Dikerogammarus villosus, Gammarus roeselii, Gammarus pulex and Gammarus fossarum. Tests were performed in micro- cosms in climate-controlled rooms at five different temperatures. Daphnia magna, a common water flea, served as prey. On ave- rage D. villosus showed the highest consumption rate of Daphnia magna over the entire temperature range, followed in decreas- ing order by G pulex, G roeselii and G fossarum. The predation rate of all species showed a distinct peak at 20~C. Correction of predation rates for body size gave somewhat different results. D. villosus is then still the most predatory of all gammaridean spe- cies tested followed by G. pulex, G. fossarum and G roeselii. The outcome of the Daphnia tests is consistent with results of other studies with different prey. This supports that the Daphnia test is a good and quick indicator of the predatory abilities in gam- maridean species at varying temperatures, and allows the prediction of how changing temperature regimes influence invasion impacts展开更多
文摘The pattern of plague endemicity in Tanzania is characterized by continuous re-appearance of the disease in some locations, while in other neighbouring villages the disease has never or seldom been observed. To understand the reasons for this pattern, we studied small mammal and flea species composition, diversity and relative abundances in two plague-endemic and two plague-free locations. We asked （a） whether fleas more abundant in plague-endemic locations differ in their characteristic abundance and the degree of their host specificity from fleas more abundant in plague-free locations and （b） whether hosts most abundant in p/ague-endemic locations differ in the diversity of their flea assemblages from hosts most abundant in p/ague-free locations. We characterized （a） each host species by species richness and degree of taxonomic relatedness of its flea assemblages and （b） each flea species by its mean abundance and size, and degree of taxonomic relatedness of its host spectrum and compared their relative abundances between locations. No significant difference between plague-endemic and plague-free locations in either host density or any variable related to flea abundance or diversity was found. However, there was marginally significant effect of taxonomic distinctness of a flea assemblage barboured by a host on its probability to be more abundant in either plague-endemic or plague-free locations. Furthermore, hosts more abundant in plague-endemic locations tended to harbour closely-related fleas. Finally, while opportunistic and specialist fleas were equally distributed in both sets of locations, fleas exploiting distantly-related hosts were found mainly in plague-free locations during the rainy season. We suggest that the observed patterns might arise due to seasonal and spatial differences in local microclimatic conditions and landscape connectivity [ Current Zoology 55 （3） ： 200 - 211, 2009].
基金Supported by the Aquaculture and Fisheries Collaborative Research Support Program of USAID (No. 1366)the Shanghai Rising-Star Program (No. 08QA1405900)+1 种基金the Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (No. 09YZ277)the Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project (No. Y1101)
文摘Cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic freshwater systems are a worldwide problem, creating adverse effects for many aquatic organisms by producing toxic mierocystins and deteriorating water quality. In this study, microcystins （MCs） in Microcystis aeruginosa, and Daphnia magna exposed to M. aeruginosa, were analyzed by HPLC-MS, and the effects of M. aeruginosa on D. magna were investigated. When D. magna was exposed to M. aeruginosa for more than 2 h, Microcystin-LR （MC-LR） was detected. When exposed to 1.5× 10^6, 3× 10^6, 0.75× 10^7, and 1.5× 10^7 cell/mL of M. aeruginosa for 96 h, average survival of D. magna for treatments were 23.33%, 33.33%, 13.33%, 16.67%, respectively, which were significantly lower than the average 100% survival in the control group （P 〈 0.05）. The adverse effects ofM. aeruginosa on body length, time for the first brood, brood numbers, gross fecundity, lifespan, and population growth olD. magna were density-dependent. These results suggest that the occurrence of M. aeruginosa blooms could strongly inhibit the population growth of D. magna through depression of survival, individual growth and gross fecundity. In the most serious situations, M. aeruginosa blooms could undermine the food web by eliminating filter-feeding zooplankton, which would destroy the ecological balance of aquaculture water bodies.
基金Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (30460125)
文摘Objective:To investigate the ectoparasite communities on Tupaia belangeri (T. belangeri) in the surrounding areas of Erhai Lake and their potential importance in medical and veterinary science. Methods: Different locations in surrounding areas of Erhai Lake in Yunnan were selected as the investigation spots. T. belangeri were randomly captured with baited mouse cages and then brought to the laboratory for identification according to their body shape, size and color, and measurements such as the lengths of their body, ear and hind feet. Ectoparasites on them were collected and identified to determine the species under microscope after specimens were mounted on slides, with the clearing and drying process completed. The constituent ratio (C), prevalence (P) and average ectoparasite abundance (A) were used to test the prevalence and density of ectoparasites; Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to test the differences in the abundance and richness of ectoparasites between female and male hosts; Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between ectoparasites and the body parameters of hosts. Results: There was very high species diversity of ectoparasites found on T. belangeri and some species of ectoparasites were reported associated with human diseases. A high proportion (88%) of 107 T. belangeri was found to be infested with ectoparasites. A total of 75 species of ectoparasites on them were collected, including 58 species of chigger mite, 12 species of gamasid mite, 4 species of flea and 1 species of sucking louse. Within this ectoparasite complex, 13 species were previously reported to be vectors of human disease agents. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-tests showed significant differences between male and female T. belangeri in terms of the abundance and richness of total ectoparasites. However, the species richness and abundance of chigger mites, sucking lice, fleas or gamasid mites presented no significant differences between male and female hosts. Spearman correlation analysis showed that none of correlations were observed between host body parameters with abundance and richness of total ectoparasites, chigger mites, suckinglice, fleas or gamatid mites. Conclusion: The results suggest that there is very high species diversity of ectoparasites on T. belangeri, consisting mainly of communities of sucking lice, fleas, chiggers and gamasid mites.
文摘Predation rate with relation to species, sex and water temperature was tested among four different gammaridean spe- cies： Dikerogammarus villosus, Gammarus roeselii, Gammarus pulex and Gammarus fossarum. Tests were performed in micro- cosms in climate-controlled rooms at five different temperatures. Daphnia magna, a common water flea, served as prey. On ave- rage D. villosus showed the highest consumption rate of Daphnia magna over the entire temperature range, followed in decreas- ing order by G pulex, G roeselii and G fossarum. The predation rate of all species showed a distinct peak at 20~C. Correction of predation rates for body size gave somewhat different results. D. villosus is then still the most predatory of all gammaridean spe- cies tested followed by G. pulex, G. fossarum and G roeselii. The outcome of the Daphnia tests is consistent with results of other studies with different prey. This supports that the Daphnia test is a good and quick indicator of the predatory abilities in gam- maridean species at varying temperatures, and allows the prediction of how changing temperature regimes influence invasion impacts
