Parasitology Commons^™

Testing Tick Repellent Effectiveness​, Katherine Bunakov, Caleigh Carlson, Marianna Denully, Kyle Keenan, Doug Gourley, Jordan Rupley

2020 Symposium Posters

In the animal kingdom, the largest biodiversity is found in arthropods. Specific species include, crabs, ticks, and spiders. Interestingly, ticks are a species responsible for transmitting at least 14 known pathogens in the United States, as well as newly emerging tick-borne diseases. It is notable that the tick species found in Washington state do not carry as many diseases as ticks of other states, however, the likelihood of disease is still relevant. Protective clothing, repellents, and staying out of tick-prone areas are the best preventative measures to becoming indisposed. Furthermore, studying which repellents are most effective allows individuals to prevent …

Parásitos Gastrointestinales De Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina, Sarah Martínez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este trabajo intentó encontrar helmintos comunes, especialmente compartidos, en cuatro carnívoros patagónicos del sur con distribuciones geográficas superpuestas y dos carnívoros patagónicos del norte, y esbozar el análisis fecal y los métodos de identificación morfológica para futuros investigadores. El estudiante encontró solo un parásito helminto compartido entre cualquier otra especie y la nutria nativa del sur del río, a pesar de una superposición en el hábitat con el visón americano invasivo, pero esto puede deberse a un bajo recuento de estudios regionales previos de helmintos en cualquiera de las especies. Se encontraron múltiples parásitos en las cuatro especies hospederas de …

A New Genus And Two New Species Of Unarmed Hymenolepidid Cestodes (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae) From Geomyid Rodents In Mexico And Costa Rica, Scott Lyell Gardner, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan, Mariel Campbell, S. Elizabeth Rácz

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Two new cestodes of the family Hymenolepididae are described from two species of rodents of the family Geomyidae collected in Mexico and Costa Rica. One new species of Hymenolepis is described from Cratogeomys planiceps Merriam 1895 from near Toluca, Mexico and another that we allocate to a new genus is described from Heterogeomys heterodus (Peters, 1865) from near Irazú Volcano, Costa Rica. Hymenolepis s. str. includes those Hymenolepididae with an apical organ, with no hooks on suckers or apical organ, and three testes. Hobergia irazuensis n. gen., n. sp. includes a hymenolepidid with an apical organ, unarmed scolex, small …

Before The Pandemic Ends: Making Sure This Never Happens Again, Daniel R. Brooks, Eric P. Hoberg, Walter A. Boeger, Scott Lyell Gardner, Sabrina B. L. Araujo, Katalin Bajer, Sebastian Botero-Cañola, Brian Byrd, Gábor Földvári, Joseph A. Cook, Jonathan L. Dunnum, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan, László Zsolt Garamszegi, Dávid Herczeg, Ferenc Jakab, Alicia Juarrero, Gábor Kemenesi, Kornélia Kurucz, Virginia León-Règagnon, Hugo H. Mejía-Madrid, Orsolya Molnár, Richard A. Nisbett, Wolfgang Preiser, Michael Stuart, Eors Szathmary, Valeria Trivellone

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Introduction

On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Global Health Emergency of international concern attendant to the emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2, nearly two months after the first reported emergence of human cases in Wuhan, China. In the subsequent two months, global, national and local health personnel and infrastructures have been overwhelmed, leading to suffering and death for infected people, and the threat of socio-economic instability and potential collapse for humanity as a whole. This shows that our current and traditional mode of coping, anchored in responses after the fact, is not capable of dealing with …

Gaharitrema Droneni N. Gen., N. Sp. (Digenea: Zoogonidae: Lepidophyllinae) From The Pudgy Cuskeel, Spectrunculus Grandis (Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae), From Deep Waters Off Oregon, With Updates Keys To Zoogonid Subfamilies And Genera, Charles K. Blend, Gábor R. Rácz, Scott Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Gaharitrema droneni n. gen., n. sp. (Digenea: Zoogonidae: Lepidophyllinae) is described from the intestine of the pudgy cuskeel, Spectrunculus grandis (Gu¨ nther, 1877) (Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae), collected at 2,800 m depth from the northeastern Pacific Ocean off Oregon. The new genus is distinguished from Brachyenteron Manter, 1934 and Steganoderma Stafford, 1904, the 2 closest lepidophylline genera, and from 4 other zoogonid genera erected since 2007, the last major revision of the family, by a combination of diagnostic features including a pyriform or spindle-shaped body, smooth testes and ovary, narrow ceca that reach with the vitellarium into the hindbody, an unspecialized ventral …

Two New Nematodes From The Families Molineidae And Strongyloididae (Nemata): Parasites Of Caenolestes (Mammalia: Paucituberculata: Caenolestidae) From The Andes Of Ecuador, Ricardo Guerrero

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

A new genus and species of Molineinae (Nemata: Trichostrongyloidea) is described. It is similar to Molineus but differs in ray 4 being longest instead of shortest. In addition, a new species of Parastrongyloides is described that is characterized by a short digitiform appendix on the tail and spicule tips with fine points. It is the second species known with two morphotypes of the females.

Resumen:

Se describe un nuevo género y especie de Molineinae (Nemata: Trichostrongyloidea), similar a Molineus pero difiere en que en la bolsa caudal el rayo 4 es el más largo en lugar de sewr el …

Checklist Of The Hard Tick (Acari: Ixodidae) Fauna Of Hungary With Emphasis On Host‑Associations And The Emergence Of Rhipicephalus Sanguineus, Sándor Hornok, Dávid Kováts, Gábor Horváth, Jenő Kontschán, Róbert Farkas

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Hungary is situated in the southern part of Central Europe, next to the northern boundary of the Mediterranean region. This geographical position may allow the northward expansion of Mediterranean ixodid tick species into Hungary, particularly in the era of warming climate. During the past 14 years numerous surveys have been published on the species and activity of hard ticks occurring in the country. However, it was 60 years ago that the last comprehensive review of ixodid ticks of Hungary was published, and only in Hungarian language. The purpose of the present checklist is to provide a comprehensive and complete overview …

Mutational Analysis And Domain Characterization Of The Apolipoprotein L-1 Ion Channel, Charles M. Schaub

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The human innate immunity factor Apolipoprotein L-1 (APOL1) protects against Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection. Recent studies have shown recombinant APOL1 (rAPOL1) inserts into planar lipid bilayers at an acidic pH 5.6 and forms a cation-selective channel, which opens upon subsequent neutralization, pH 7.2. This corresponds with the pH changes APOL1 would encounter during endosome recycling, suggesting that APOL1 forms a pH-gated ion channel in the plasma membrane of the parasite, leading to uncontrolled ion flux and osmotic imbalance. However, structural and domain characteristics of the APOL1 channel are poorly understood, despite potential similarities to diphtheria and colicin toxins. Utilizing E. …

Phylogenetic Afficity Of Genolopa (Digenea: Monorchiidae) With Descriptions Of Two New Species, Apryle J. Panyi, Stephen S. Curran, Robin M. Overstreet

Faculty Publications

The validity of Genolopa Linton, 1910 has been controversial because the observation of presently recognized critical diagnostic morphological features (spines in the genital atrium and a bipartite, anteriorly spined terminal organ) were omitted from the original diagnosis, and these features were not universally appreciated as important diagnostic features until 2008. Modern taxonomists have been further challenged by inappropriate fixation techniques that have resulted in various interpretations of morphological features. Consequently, named species in the genus have fluctuated among other monorchiid genera depending on various interpretations by taxonomists, and a modern consensus on classifying these species is lacking. This study …

Predicting The Potential Distribution Of Amblyomma Americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) Infestation In New Zealand, Using Maximum Entropy‑Based Ecological Niche Modelling, R. K. Raghavan, A. C.G. Heath, K. E. Lawrence, R. R. Ganta, A. T. Peterson, W. E. Pomroy

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Although currently exotic to New Zealand, the potential geographic distribution of Amblyomma americanum (L.), the lone star tick, was modelled using maximum entropy (Max- Ent). The MaxEnt model was calibrated across the native range of A. americanum in North America using present-day climatic conditions and occurrence data from museum collections. The resulting model was then projected onto New Zealand using both present-day and future climates modelled under two greenhouse gas emission scenarios, representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 (low) and RCP 8.5 (high). Three sets of WorldClim bioclimatic variables were chosen using the jackknife method and tested in MaxEnt using different …

The Enigmatic Spelaeorhynchidae Oudemans, 1902 (Acari: Mesostigmata) Blood-Feeding Ectoparasites Infesting Neotropical Bats, With Catalog And Notes On A Collection From The Manú Biosphere Reserve In Peru, Donald Gettinger, Madalyne Epperson, Candy Hermasillo, Scott L. Gardner

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

A survey of ectoparasites associated with bats collected along an elevational transect in the Manú Biosphere Reserve, Peru, includes specimens of two species of an unusual and rarely collected family of parasitic mites, the Spelaeorhynchidae Oudemans, and reveals information on the natural occurrence of these infections. In lowland rainforest (450–1,000 m) along the Rio Alto Madre de Dios, Spelaeorhynchus soaresi Peracchi was recorded exclusively infecting two species of frugivorous Carollia, C. brevicauda and C. perspicillata. At higher elevations in the mountains and cloud forests, Spelaeorhynchus praecursor Neumann exclusively infected two species of nectarivorous Anoura, A. cultrata and A. …

Insights About Diversity Of Tetrabothriidae (Eucestoda) Among Holarctic Alcidae (Charadriiformes): What Is Tetrabothrius Jagerskioeldi?, Eric P. Hoberg, Kaylen Marie Soudachanh

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

Tetrabothriid cestodes are characteristic helminths that infect species of seabirds globally. We begin with the exploration of the diversity of tapeworms of the genus Tetrabothrius Rudolphi, 1819 (Eucestoda: Tetrabothriidae), some of which are distributed among seabirds of the family Alcidae (Charadriiformes) at boreal to higher latitudes of Holarctic seas. During the course of 2 decades of field inventory from 1975 through the early 1990s (in addition to earlier collections assembled by Robert L. Rausch and colleagues in Alaska initiated in the late 1940s), an extensive series of tapeworm specimens attributable to species of Tetrabothrius was recovered from seabirds across the …

Ticks On Lizards: Parasite-Host Interactions Of The Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria Multicarinata) In Washington State, Emma Houghton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

I investigated interactions between ectoparasites (ticks) and their host, the southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata). Alligator lizards are capable of complement-mediated killing of the Lyme disease spirochete carried by ticks and may potentially reduce Lyme disease prevalence by cleansing pathogenic organisms from ticks. Despite this, little is known about host-parasite dynamics in alligator lizards. My goals were to 1) assess patterns of tick presence (i.e. parasite load) on alligator lizards and 2) investigate potential negative effects of ticks on alligator lizards. I sampled lizards during the summer of 2019 near Catherine Creek, along the Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington. …

Ticks On Lizards: Parasite-Host Interactions Of The Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria Multicarinata) In Washington State, Emma Houghton

All Undergraduate Projects

I investigated interactions between ectoparasites (ticks) and their host, the southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata). Alligator lizards are capable of complement-mediated killing of the Lyme disease spirochete carried by ticks and may potentially reduce Lyme disease prevalence by cleansing pathogenic organisms from ticks. Despite this, little is known about host-parasite dynamics in alligator lizards. My goals were to 1) assess patterns of tick presence (i.e. parasite load) on alligator lizards and 2) investigate potential negative effects of ticks on alligator lizards. I sampled lizards during the summer of 2019 near Catherine Creek, along the Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington. …

Tick-Borne Flavivirus Inhibits Sphingomyelinase (Issmase), A Venomous Spider Ortholog To Increase Sphingomyelin Lipid Levels For Its Survival In Ixodes Scapularis Ticks, Pravesh Regmi, Supreet Khanal, Girish Neelakanta, Hameda Sultana

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Our previous study showed that cells from medically important arthropods, such as ticks, secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) including exosomes that mediate transmission of flavivirus RNA and proteins to the human cells. Understanding the molecular determinants and mechanism(s) of arthropod-borne flavivirus transmission via exosome biogenesis is very important. In this current study, we showed that in the presence of tick-borne Langat Virus (LGTV; a member of tick-borne encephalitis virus complex), the expression of arthropod IsSMase, a sphingomyelinase D (SMase D) that catalyzes the hydrolytic cleavage of substrates like sphingomyelin (SM) lipids, was significantly reduced in both Ixodes scapularis ticks (in vivo) …

The Heat Is On: Comparison Of Thermoregulatory Behavior In Parasitised Versus Unparasitized Caterpillars Of The Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca Sexta (L.) [Lepidoptera: Sphingidae], Jessica M. Johnston

Theses and Dissertations

Insect thermoregulatory research has demonstrated evidence of variation occurring within and among species with respect to infection, pathogens, and parasitism, but few studies have examined differences in thermoregulatory behavior in a host-parasite system with a coevolved symbiotic virus. I investigated the role of parasitism by Cotesia congregata (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on the thermoregulatory behavior of Manduca sexta (L.) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) using an experimental design in a thermal gradient chamber and a complementary observational field study on wild M. sexta collected from tobacco farms. Parasitism and larval age were not found to have a significant effect on the preferred body temperature …

Analysis Of Genetic Structure And Pathogen Dynamics Of Ixodes Scapularis In Southwestern Virginia, Leemu Jackson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ixodes scapularis, or the blacklegged tick, is the primary vector of Borrelia burgdorferi. This pathogen is the causative agent of Lyme disease, the most common vector-transmitted disease in the United States. Although I. scapularis is distributed throughout the eastern U.S., Lyme disease is only considered endemic in the northeastern region of the country. Prior to 2007, Lyme disease was uncommon in Virginia, but since then cases of Lyme disease have increased dramatically with a hotspot forming in the Roanoke-Blacksburg area. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether B. burgdorferi prevalence and the genetic structure of I. …

Getting Lost: The Fungal Hijacking Of Ant Foraging Behavior In Space And Time, Thienthanh Trinh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Many parasites have evolved strategies to exploit host behavior such that it benefits parasite transmission. Ophiocordyceps manipulations of carpenter ant behavior represent an evident example. Manipulated ants are coerced to ascend vegetation and clamp down their mandibles in a stereotypical "death-grip" bite. The fungus then kills the ant, sprouts a stalk and releases infective spores. Research has focused on this ultimate manipulation, leaving the subtler behavioral changes pre-biting largely unexplored. Field and transcriptome data found that the host circadian clocks, olfaction, and communication may be disrupted, suggesting that the fungus is affecting ant foraging activity and effectivity. To test these …

Lymesim 2.0: An Updated Simulation Of Blacklegged Tick (Acari: Ixodidae) Population Dynamics And Enzootic Transmission Of Borrelia Burgdorferi (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae), Holly Gaff, Rebecca J. Eisen, Lars Eisen, Robyn Nadolny, Jenna Bjork, Andrew J. Monaghan

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States, and the number of cases reported each year continues to rise. The complex nature of the relationships between the pathogen (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto), the tick vector (Ixodes scapularis Say), multiple vertebrate hosts, and numerous environmental factors creates challenges for understanding and predicting tick population and pathogen transmission dynamics. LYMESIM is a mechanistic model developed in the late 1990s to simulate the life-history of I. scapularis and transmission dynamics of B. burgdorferi s.s. Here we present LYMESIM 2.0, a modernized version of LYMESIM, that includes …

An Efficient Microinjection Method To Generate Human Anaplasmosis Agent Anaplasma Phagocytophilum-Infected Ticks, Vikas Taank, Ellango Ramasamy, Hameeda Sultana, Girish Neelakanta

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks are important vectors that transmit several pathogens including human anaplasmosis agent, Anaplasma phagocytophilum. This bacterium is an obligate intracellular rickettsial pathogen. An infected reservoir animal host is often required for maintenance of this bacterial colony and as a source for blood to perform needle inoculations in naïve animals for tick feeding studies. In this study, we report an efficient microinjection method to generate A. phagocytophilum-infected ticks in laboratory conditions. The dense-core (DC) form of A. phagocytophilum was isolated from in vitro cultures and injected into the anal pore of unfed uninfected Ixodes scapularis nymphal ticks. These ticks …

Expression And Functional Sialome Of Triatomines, Insect Vectors Of Chagas Disease, Maria Tays Mendes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Triatomines are blood-sucking arthropods that transmit Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease (ChD). Triatomines use bioactive molecules in the saliva for successful blood feeding and to evade the hemostatic and immune defense system of the hosts. Knowing the saliva composition could be useful for a better understanding which and how insect-derived molecules might influence host-parasite interactions. Previous studies have shown that some saliva-derived proteins and lipids can modulate the host immune system and increase T. cruzi infection. We hypothesize that the triatomine saliva contains a great diversity of lipids and proteins that can modulate the mammalian host immune …

Hyperparasitic Spore-Forming Eukaryotes (Microsporidia, Haplosporidia, And Myxozoa) Parasitizing Trematodes (Platyhelminthes), Yuliya Ya. Sokolova, Robin M. Overstreet

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

ABSTRACT

Trematodes serve as outstanding hosts for a variety of parasites. This paper restricts those parasites to three groups of non-related taxa parasitizing trematodes and forming invasive spores similar in external morphology, which is why in the past these three groups of parasitic eukaryotes were united into the taxon “Sporozoa” (Kudo, 1924). (1) Trematode-infecting microsporidia (type Microsporidia Balbiani, 1882: Rozellomycota: Holomycota) are represented by more than 30 species. Among those, the species with sequenced barcode (SSU rDNA) are phylogenetically associated with either microsporidia from invertebrates, as the species of the genus Unikaryon (7 species), or fish microsporidia, as the species …

Efficient Coi Barcoding Using High Throughput Single-End 400 Bp Sequencing, Chentao Yang, Yuxuan Zheng, Shangjin Tan, Guanliang Meng, Wei Rao, Caiqing Yang, David G. Bourne, Paul A. O'Brien, Junqiang Xu, Sha Liao, Ao Chen, Xiaowei Chen, Xinrui Jia, Ai-Bing Zhang, Shanlin Liu

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Background

Over the last decade, the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing platforms has accelerated species description and assisted morphological classification through DNA barcoding. However, the current highthroughput DNA barcoding methods cannot obtain full-length barcode sequences due to read length limitations (for example, a maximum read length of 300 bp for the Illumina’s MiSeq system), or are hindered by a relatively high cost or low sequencing output (e.g. a maximum number of eight million reads per cell for the PacBio’s SEQUEL II system).

Results

Pooled cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcodes from individual specimens were sequenced on the …

Adult Worm Exclusion And Histological Data Of Dogs Repeatedly Infected With The Cestode Echinococcus Multilocularis, Hirokazu Kouguchi, Hidefumi Furuoka, Takao Irie, Jun Matsumoto, Ryo Nakao, Nariaki Nonaka, Yasuyuki Morishima, Kazuhiro Okubo, Kinpei Yagi

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

The data presented in this article are related to a previously published research article titled The timing of worm exclusion in dogs repeatedly infected with the cestode Echinococcus multilocularis (Kouguchi et al. 2016). This data describe a comparison of worm exclusion in the early stage of infection (1 day and 6 days post-infection) between dogs infected for the first time (control group) and dogs repeatedly infected with the parasite 4 times (repeated infection groups). We observed that 6 days post reinfection, the number of adult worms in repeated-infection groups decreased by 88.7% compared with the control group. Histological analysis comparison …

Host Relationships And Geographic Distribution Of Species Of Blanchard, 1848 (Onchoproteocephalidea, Onchobothriidae) In Elasmobranchs: A Metadata Analysis, Francisco Zaragoza-Tapia, Griselda Pulido-Flores, Scott L. Gardner, Scott Monks

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Species of Acanthobothrium have been documented as parasites of the spiral intestine of elasmobranchs. Results of a metadata analysis indicate that 114 species of elasmobranchs have been reported as hosts of 200 species of Acanthobothrium. The metadata analysis revealed that 3.7% of species of sharks and 14.9% of species of rays that have been reported as hosts to date; some species are parasitized by more than one species of Acanthobothrium. This work provides a Category designation, as proposed by Ghoshroy and Caira (2001), for each species of Acanthobothrium. These Category designations are a tool to facilitate comparisons …

Obituary: Sydney Anderson (1927–2018), Scott Lyell Gardner, Robert M. Timm, Nancy Olds, Hugh H. Genoways

Scott L. Gardner Publications

On August 12, 2018, the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) lost one of its giants of the latter half of the 20th century when Sydney Anderson quietly passed away at his home in Birmingham, Alabama, at the age of 91. “Syd,” to his many friends and colleagues, was born on January 11, 1927 in Topeka, Kansas, to Robert Grant and Evelyn Fern (Hunt) Anderson.

Anderson began his professional career at the University of Kansas, where for four years (1955–1959) he served as Assistant Curator in charge of mammals in the Museum of Natural History, and Instructor in the Department of …

Coproid Predicts The Source Of Coprolites And Paleofeces Using Microbiome Composition And Host Dna Content, Maxime Borry, Bryan Cordova, Angela Perri, Marsha Wibowo, Tanvi Prasad Honap, Jada Ko, Kate Britton, Linus Girdland-Flink, Robert C. Power, Ingelise Stuijts, Domingo C. Salazar-García, Courtney Hofman, Richard Hagan, Thérèse Samdapawindé Kagoné, Nicolas Meda, Helene Carabin, David Jacobson, Karl Reinhard, Cecil Lewis, Aleksandar Kostic, Choongwon Jeong, Alexander Herbig, Alexander Hübner, Christina Warinner

Karl Reinhard Publications

Shotgun metagenomics applied to archaeological feces (paleofeces) can bring new insights into the composition and functions of human and animal gut microbiota from the past. However, paleofeces often undergo physical distortions in archaeological sediments, making their source species difficult to identify on the basis of fecal morphology or microscopic features alone. Here we present a reproducible and scalable pipeline using both host and microbial DNA to infer the host source of fecal material. We apply this pipeline to newly sequenced archaeological specimens and show that we are able to distinguish morphologically similar human and canine paleofeces, as well as non-fecal …

Diet Analysis Reveals Pre-Historic Meals Among The Loma San Gabriel At La Cueva De Los Muertos Chiquitos, Rio Zape, Mexico (600–800 Ce), Elisa Pucu, Julia Russ, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Coprolites have been a source of study for archeologists due to several reasons: they not only provide information on the life and nutritional habits of ancient individuals but also on their health. In this paper, we processed 10 coprolites collected at La Cueva de Los Muertos Chiquitos (600–800 CE), Rio Zape, Mexico, with acetolysis solution for pollen analysis. The number of pollen grains/gram of each coprolite sample was quantified along with the macroscopic remains of these samples. The main food item ingested by the population was maize, followed by Agave. Squash blossoms were also part of their food source …

Pinworm Research In The Southwest Usa: Five Decades Of Methodological And Theoretical Development And The Epidemiological Approach, Morgana Camacho, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Pinworms infected Ancestral Pueblo populations since early periods of occupation on the Colorado Plateau. The high prevalence of pinworm found in these populations was correlated with the habitation style developments through time. However, in previous studies, Turkey Pen Cave, an early occupation site, and Salmon Ruins, a late occupation site, exhibited prevalences that were anomalously low, suggesting that these sites were outliers. Alternatively, it is possible that the previous quantification method was not successful in detecting the real prevalence and eggs per gram, which led to inexact interpretations. The aims of this study were to verify if previous pinworm prevalences …

Assessment Of The Immune Response To Posthodiplostomum Minimum Infection In Bluegills, Olamide S. Olayinka

Masters Theses

Bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) are common intermediate hosts for white grub (Posthodiplostomum minimum). They tolerate heavy infections with minimal effect on condition and continue to accumulate metacercariae as they age. This suggests that any immune response to this parasite might not be effective. This study was conducted to better understand the immune mechanisms underlying P. minimum infection in bluegills.

Infected organs (liver, kidney, and heart) were examined histologically, and serum from infected fish was tested for antibodies to white grub. Juvenile flukes were recovered from isolated metacercarial cysts. Polyclonal antibodies were produced in mice against white grub …