Duck fleas as evidence for eiderdown production on archaeological sites

Acknowledgements This project was undertaken as part of my doctoral studies funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CACR-2009-39) in the United Kingdom. I would like to thank my supervisors Karen Milek and Andrew Dugmore for their help and support. I also wish to thank Jónas Helgason, his son Alexius Jónasson and Baldur Vilhelmsson for kindly having allowed access to the eiderdown stores and workshops at Æðey and Vatnsfjörður and for having provided assistance when needed. I would like to thank Fornleifastofnun Íslands for supporting my fieldwork at Vatnsfjörður, as well as Paul Ledger and Garðar Guðmundsson for their help during fieldwork. I am especially grateful to Richard Marriott for his invaluable help with flea identifications and for lending me reference material. Erling Ólafsson and Jan Klimaszewski also helped with the beetle identifications. Consultation of the BugsCEP database (Buckland and Buckland, 2006) aided the redaction of this paper.

Duck fleas as evidence for eiderdown production on archaeological sites

Acknowledgements This project was undertaken as part of my doctoral studies funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CACR-2009-39) in the United Kingdom. I would like to thank my supervisors Karen Milek and Andrew Dugmore for their help and support. I also wish to thank Jónas Helgason, his son Alexius Jónasson and Baldur Vilhelmsson for kindly having allowed access to the eiderdown stores and workshops at Æðey and Vatnsfjörður and for having provided assistance when needed. I would like to thank Fornleifastofnun Íslands for supporting my fieldwork at Vatnsfjörður, as well as Paul Ledger and Garðar Guðmundsson for their help during fieldwork. I am especially grateful to Richard Marriott for his invaluable help with flea identifications and for lending me reference material. Erling Ólafsson and Jan Klimaszewski also helped with the beetle identifications. Consultation of the BugsCEP database (Buckland and Buckland, 2006) aided the redaction of this paper.

Duck fleas as evidence for eiderdown production on archaeological sites

Acknowledgements This project was undertaken as part of my doctoral studies funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CACR-2009-39) in the United Kingdom. I would like to thank my supervisors Karen Milek and Andrew Dugmore for their help and support. I also wish to thank Jónas Helgason, his son Alexius Jónasson and Baldur Vilhelmsson for kindly having allowed access to the eiderdown stores and workshops at Æðey and Vatnsfjörður and for having provided assistance when needed. I would like to thank Fornleifastofnun Íslands for supporting my fieldwork at Vatnsfjörður, as well as Paul Ledger and Garðar Guðmundsson for their help during fieldwork. I am especially grateful to Richard Marriott for his invaluable help with flea identifications and for lending me reference material. Erling Ólafsson and Jan Klimaszewski also helped with the beetle identifications. Consultation of the BugsCEP database (Buckland and Buckland, 2006) aided the redaction of this paper.

A method for mapping the distribution and density of rabbits and other vertebrate pests in Australia

The European wild rabbit has been considered Australia’s worst vertebrate pest and yet little effort appears to have gone into producing maps of rabbit distribution and density. Mapping the distribution and density of pests is an important step in effective management. A map is essential for estimating the extent of damage caused and for efficiently planning and monitoring the success of pest control operations. This paper describes the use of soil type and point data to prepare a map showing the distribution and density of rabbits in Australia. The potential for the method to be used for mapping other vertebrate pests is explored. The approach used to prepare the map is based on that used for rabbits in Queensland (Berman et al. 1998). An index of rabbit density was determined using the number of Spanish rabbit fleas released per square kilometre for each Soil Map Unit (Atlas of Australian Soils). Spanish rabbit fleas were released into active rabbit warrens at 1606 sites in the early 1990s as an additional vector for myxoma virus and the locations of the releases were recorded using a Global Positioning System (GPS). Releases were predominantly in arid areas but some fleas were released in south east Queensland and the New England Tablelands of New South Wales. The map produced appears to reflect well the distribution and density of rabbits, at least in the areas where Spanish fleas were released. Rabbit pellet counts conducted in 2007 at 54 sites across an area of south east South Australia, south eastern Queensland, and parts of New South Wales (New England Tablelands and south west) in soil Map Units where Spanish fleas were released, provided a preliminary means to ground truth the map. There was a good relationship between mean pellet count score and the index of abundance for soil Map Units. Rabbit pellet counts may allow extension of the map into other parts of Australia where there were no Spanish rabbit fleas released and where there may be no other consistent information on rabbit location and density. The recent Equine Influenza outbreak provided a further test of the value of this mapping method. The distribution and density of domestic horses were mapped to provide estimates of the number of horses in various regions. These estimates were close to the actual numbers of horses subsequently determined from vaccination records and registrations. The soil Map Units are not simply soil types they contain information on landuse and vegetation and the soil classification is relatively localised. These properties make this mapping method useful, not only for rabbits, but also for other species that are not so dependent on soil type for survival.

Causes and consequences of variation in nestling immune function

Defence against pathogens is a vital need of all living organisms that has led to the evolution of complex immune mechanisms. However, although immunocompetence the ability to resist pathogens and control infection has in recent decades become a focus for research in evolutionary ecology, the variation in immune function observed in natural populations is relatively little understood. This thesis examines sources of this variation (environmental, genetic and maternal effects) during the nestling stage and its fitness consequences in wild populations of passerines: the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) and the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis). A developing organism may face a dilemma as to whether to allocate limited resources to growth or to immune defences. The optimal level of investment in immunity is shaped inherently by specific requirements of the environment. If the probability of contracting infection is low, maintaining high growth rates even at the expense of immune function may be advantageous for nestlings, as body mass is usually a good predictor of post-fledging survival. In experiments with blue tits and haematophagous hen fleas (Ceratophyllus gallinae) using two methods, methionine supplementation (to manipulate nestlings resource allocation to cellular immune function) and food supplementation (to increase resource availability), I confirmed that there is a trade-off between growth and immunity and that the abundance of ectoparasites is an environmental factor affecting allocation of resources to immune function. A cross-fostering experiment also revealed that environmental heterogeneity in terms of abundance of ectoparasites may contribute to maintaining additive genetic variation in immunity and other traits. Animal model analysis of extensive data collected from the population of collared flycatchers on Gotland (Sweden) allowed examination of the narrow-sense heritability of PHA-response the most commonly used index of cellular immunocompetence in avian studies. PHA-response is not heritable in this population, but is subject to a non-heritable origin (presumably maternal) effect. However, experimental manipulation of yolk androgen levels indicates that the mechanism of the maternal effect in PHA-response is not in ovo deposition of androgens. The relationship between PHA-response and recruitment was studied for over 1300 collared flycatcher nestlings. Multivariate selection analysis shows that it is body mass, not PHA-response, that is under direct selection. PHA-response appears to be related to recruitment because of its positive relationship with body mass. These results imply that either PHA-response fails to capture the immune mechanisms that are relevant for defence against pathogens encountered by fledglings or that the selection pressure from parasites is not as strong as commonly assumed.

The ecology of the Irish stoat

The Irish stoat, Mustela erminea hibernica (Thomas and Barrett-Hamilton), has been regarded as an intermediate between the British stoat and the weasel. In this study Irish stoats, mainly from road casualties, were collected and studied. A small number were also live-trapped and radio-tracked. Thus information was gathered on the stoat’s ecology, in particular its form (size and coat colours), reproduction, food habits, parasites, habitat utilisation mortality and predation. The Irish stoats studied were clearly not intermediate in size between British stoats and weasels. They showed considerable size overlap with British stoats, and marked size variation within Ireland. It is argued that size of stoats is determined by food supply early in life. The ventral coat pattern of Irish stoats is apparently unique in the Palaearctic, being similar to that of some stoats found on the west coast of North America. It is argued that this is an example of parallel evolution resulting from adaptation to similar climatic conditions. The stoats were reproductively active in spring and summer. Food consisted mainly of rabbits, but rats, birds, shrews mice and voles were also consumed. Mites were the most numerous ectoparasites, followed by lice, ticks and fleas. Damage by the parasitic nematode Skrjabingylus nasicola was found more frequently in female stoat skulls. Stoats were frequently found in a variety of habitats, both open and wooded. Some of the radio-tracked stoats climbed trees. Dens used were often rat holes. Only one home range, that of a breeding female, was considered to have been accurately measured. It was 22 ha. in size. Mortality is known to have been caused by road accidents and domestic carnivores. It is argued that predation by raptorial birds is important to stoat populations. Results of this study are compared with information available from elsewhere.

Permissivity of insect cells to Waddlia chondrophila, Estrella lausannensis and Parachlamydia acanthamoebae.

Recent large scale studies questioning the presence of intracellular bacteria of the Chlamydiales order in ticks and fleas revealed that arthropods, similarly to mammals, reptiles, birds or fishes, can be colonized by Chlamydia-related bacteria with a predominant representation of the Rhabdochlamydiaceae and Parachlamydiaceae families. We thus investigated the permissivity of two insect cell lines towards Waddlia chondrophila, Estrella lausannensis and Parachlamydia acanthamoebae, three bacteria representative of three distinct families within the Chlamydiales order, all documented in ticks and/or in other arthropods. We demonstrated that W. chondrophila and E. lausannensis are able to very efficiently multiply in these insect cell lines. E. lausannensis however induced a rapid cytopathic effect, which somehow restricted its replication. P. acanthamoebae was not able to grow in these cell lines even if inclusions containing a few replicating bacteria could occasionally be observed.

Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2013 Annual Checklist

This release of the Catalogue of Life contains contributions from 132 databases with information on 1,352,112 species, 114,069 infraspecific taxa and also includes 928,147 synonyms and 408,689 common names covering the following groups: Viruses • Viruses and Subviral agents from ICTV_MSL UPDATED! Bacteria and Archaea from BIOS Chromista • Chromistan fungi from Species Fungorum Protozoa • Major groups from ITIS Regional, • Ciliates from CilCat, • Polycystines from WoRMS Polycystina UPDATED!, • Protozoan fungi from Species Fungorum and Trichomycetes database • Slime moulds from Nomen.eumycetozoa.com Fungi • Various taxa in whole or in part from CABI Bioservices databases (Species Fungorum, Phyllachorales, Rhytismatales, Saccharomycetes and Zygomycetes databases) and from three other databases covering Xylariaceae, Glomeromycota, Trichomycetes, Dothideomycetes • Lichens from LIAS UPDATED! Plantae (Plants) • Mosses from MOST • Liverworts and hornworts from ELPT • Conifers from Conifer Database • Cycads and 6 flowering plant families from IOPI-GPC, and 99 families from WCSP • Plus individual flowering plants families from AnnonBase, Brassicaceae, ChenoBase, Droseraceae Database, EbenaBase, GCC UPDATED!, ILDIS UPDATED!, LecyPages, LHD, MELnet UPDATED!, RJB Geranium, Solanaceae Source, Umbellifers. Animalia (Animals) • Marine groups from URMO, ITIS Global, Hexacorals, ETI WBD (Euphausiacea), WoRMS: WoRMS Asteroidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Bochusacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Brachiopoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Brachypoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Brachyura UPDATED!, WoRMS Bryozoa UPDATED!, WoRMS Cestoda NEW!, WoRMS Chaetognatha UPDATED!, WoRMS Cumacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Echinoidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Gastrotricha NEW!, WoRMS Gnathostomulida NEW!, WoRMS Holothuroidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Hydrozoa UPDATED!, WoRMS Isopoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Leptostraca UPDATED!, WoRMS Monogenea NEW!, WoRMS Mystacocarida UPDATED!, WoRMS Myxozoa NEW!, WoRMS Nemertea UPDATED!, WoRMS Oligochaeta UPDATED!, WoRMS Ophiuroidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Phoronida UPDATED!, WoRMS Placozoa NEW!, WoRMS Polychaeta UPDATED!, WoRMS Polycystina UPDATED!, WoRMS Porifera UPDATED!, WoRMS Priapulida NEW!, WoRMS Proseriata and Kalyptorhynchia UPDATED!, WoRMS Remipedia UPDATED!, WoRMS Scaphopoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Tanaidacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Tantulocarida UPDATED!, WoRMS Thermosbaenacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Trematoda NEW!, WoRMS Xenoturbellida UPDATED! • Rotifers, mayflies, freshwater hairworms, planarians from FADA databases: FADA Rotifera UPDATED!, FADA Ephemeroptera NEW!, FADA Nematomorpha NEW! & FADA Turbellaria NEW! • Entoprocts, water bears from ITIS Global • Spiders, scorpions, ticks & mites from SpidCat via ITIS UPDATED!, SalticidDB , ITIS Global, TicksBase, SpmWeb BdelloideaBase UPDATED! & Mites GSDs: OlogamasidBase, PhytoseiidBase, RhodacaridBase & TenuipalpidBase • Diplopods, centipedes, pauropods and symphylans from SysMyr UPDATED! & ChiloBase • Dragonflies and damselflies from Odonata database • Stoneflies from PlecopteraSF UPDATED! • Cockroaches from BlattodeaSF UPDATED! • Praying mantids from MantodeaSF UPDATED! • Stick and leaf insects from PhasmidaSF UPDATED! • Grasshoppers, locusts, katydids and crickets from OrthopteraSF UPDATED! • Webspinners from EmbiopteraSF UPDATED! • Bark & parasitic lices from PsocodeaSF NEW! • Some groups of true bugs from ScaleNet, FLOW, COOL, Psyllist, AphidSF UPDATED! , MBB, 3i Cicadellinae, 3i Typhlocybinae, MOWD & CoreoideaSF NEW!• Twisted-wing parasites from Strepsiptera Database UPDATED! • Lacewings, antlions, owlflies, fishflies, dobsonflies & snakeflies from LDL Neuropterida • Some beetle groups from the Scarabs UPDATED!, TITAN, WTaxa & ITIS Global • Fleas from Parhost • Flies, mosquitoes, bots, midges and gnats from Systema Dipterorum, CCW & CIPA • Butterflies and moths from LepIndex UPDATED!, GloBIS (GART) UPDATED!, Tineidae NHM, World Gracillariidae • Bees & wasps from ITIS Bees, Taxapad Ichneumonoidea, UCD, ZOBODAT Vespoidea & HymIS Rhopalosomatidae NEW!• Molluscs from WoRMS Mollusca NEW!, FADA Bivalvia NEW!, MolluscaFW NEW! & AFD (Pulmonata) • Fishes from FishBase UPDATED! • Reptiles from TIGR Reptiles • Amphibians, birds and mammals from ITIS Global PLUS additional species of many groups from ITIS Regional, NZIB and CoL China NEW!

Phylogenetic, morphological and behavioural analyses support host switching of Trypanosoma (Herpetosoma) lewisi from domestic rats to primates

We characterized four Brazilian trypanosomes isolated from domestic rats and three from captive nonhuman primates that were morphologically similar to T. lewisi, a considered non-pathogenic species restricted to rodents and transmitted by fleas, despite its potential pathogenicity for infants. These isolates were identified as T. lewisi by barcoding using V7V8 SSU rDNA sequences. In inferred phylogenetic trees, all isolates clustered tightly with reference T. lewisi and T. lewisi-like trypanosomes from Europe, Asia and Africa and despite their high sequence conservation formed a homogeneous clade separate from other species of the subgenus T. (Herpetosoma). With the aim of clearly resolving the relationships between the Brazilian isolates from domestic rats and primates, we compared sequences from more polymorphic ITS rDNA. Results corroborated that isolates from Brazilian rats and monkeys were indeed of the same species and quite close to T. lewisi isolates of humans and rats from different geographical regions. Morphology of the monkey isolates and their behaviour in culture and in experimentally infected rats were also compatible with T. lewisi. However, infection with T. lewisi is rare among monkeys. We have examined more than 200 free-ranging and 160 captive monkeys and found only three infected individuals among the monkeys held in captivity. The findings of this work suggest that proximity of monkeys and infected rats and their exposure to infected fleas may be responsible for the host switching of T. Iewisi from their natural rodent species to primates. This and previous studies reporting T. lewisi in humans suggest that this trypanosome can cause sporadic and opportunistic fleaborne infection in primates. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

First probable Australian cases of human infection with Rickettsia felis (cat-flea typhus)

Human infection with Rickettsia felis has been reported in most parts of the world, and R. felis has recently been confirmed in cat fleas in Western Australia. The clinical presentations of R. typhi and R. felis are similar, and in the past, the incidence of R. felis infection may have been underestimated. We describe the first reported cases of probable human R. felis infection in Australia. Two adults and three children in Victoria contracted a rickettsial disease after exposure to fleas from kittens. Molecular testing of fleas demonstrated the presence of R. felis but not R. typhi.

Cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) infestation in quarantined marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) populations

Marsh deer (Blastocenrs dichotomus) were captured for a research progam in Brazil and maintained in quarantine stations. After 60 days, fleas were detected on animals and identified as Ctenocephalides felis felis. Elimination of the infestation was difficult. Animal treatment with a fipronil-based compound was effective, and subsequently captured animals were treated prophylactically. Some animals remained infested, and some died from the infestation.

Similarities among ectoparasite fauna of sigmodontine rodents: phylogenetic and geographical influences

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Atividade endectocida de uma nova alternativa terapêutica (S-cifenotrina, Butóxido de piperonila, D-tetrametrina e Ivermectina) em cães

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Molecular and parasitological detection of Leishmania spp. in a dipteran of the species Tabanus importunus

A leishmaniose é uma importante zoonose, de caráter crônico, causada por protozoários do gênero Leishmania spp. Esta protozoose tem como principal vetor os flebotomíneos, sendo que, no Brasil, o Lutzomyia longipalpis é a principal espécie incriminada na transmissão da leishmaniose Visceral Americana. A presença do ácido desoxirribonucleico (DNA) do parasito em ectoparasitos, como carrapatos e pulgas, tem gerado especulações quanto a existência de novos vetores no ciclo da leishmaniose. Foi objetivo deste estudo relatar a detecção molecular de Leishmania spp. em uma mutuca da espécie Tabanus importunus que parasitava um cão oligossintomático infectado por Leishmania spp. A análise molecular amplificou o DNA do protozoário na cabeça, na região torácica e no abdomen do tabanídeo, resultando como positivo para complexo Leishmania. Este é o primeiro relato da presença de DNA de Leishmania spp. em insetos dipteros da espécie T. importunus.

Avaliação dos efeitos citotóxicos, genotóxicos e mutagênicos do fipronil, após fotodegradação, utilizando Allium cepa como organismo teste

Compounds released into the environment can induce genetic alterations in living organisms. A group of chemicals that shows proven toxicity is the pesticides, and the insecticides are the most harmful. The insecticides of the family phenylpyrazole have wide application both in agriculture and in homes. Fipronil, an insecticide of this chemical group, is widely used in various cultures and in homes, mainly for fighting fleas and ticks on dogs and cats. The use of fipronil may represent a risk to man and the environmental health, since this pesticide can potentially induce cell death, regardless of cell type. Fipronil, when in contact with the environment, can undergo various degradation processes, including photodegradation. The toxic effect of one of its metabolites derived from photodegradation, sulfone-fipronil, is approximately 20 fold as great as fipronil itself. The A. cepa test system was used to evaluate cytotoxic, genotoxicity and mutagenic effects of fipronil before and after phptodegradation. Seeds of Allium cepa were subjected to solutions of fipronil, pre-exposed or not exposed to degradation by sunlight. The germination tests were conducted both under the effect of light and in the dark. We evaluated the cumulative potential of this insecticide using 48 and 72-hours recovery tests. The results showed that when fipronil was previously exposed to the sun, it presented a greater genotoxic and mutagenic potential, showing that the metabolites formed by photodegradation can show more harmfull effects