0000000000225840
AUTHOR
Simonetta Mattiucci
Helminth communities of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from Central and Western Mediterranean Sea: the importance of host's ontogeny.
We investigated the factors providing structure to the helminth communities of 182 loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, collected in 6 localities from Central and Western Mediterranean. Fifteen helminth taxa (10 digeneans, 4 nematodes and 1 acanthocephalan) were identified, of which 12 were specialist to marine turtles; very low numbers of immature individuals of 3 species typical from fish or cetaceans were also found. These observations confirm the hypothesis that phylogenetic factors restrict community composition to helminth species specific to marine turtles. There were significant community dissimilarities between turtles from different localities, the overall pattern being compat…
Helminth communities of owls (strigiformes) indicate strong biological and ecological differences from birds of prey (accipitriformes and falconiformes) in southern Italy.
We compared the helminth communities of 5 owl species from Calabria (Italy) and evaluated the effect of phylogenetic and ecological factors on community structure. Two host taxonomic scales were considered, i.e., owl species, and owls vs. birds of prey. The latter scale was dealt with by comparing the data here obtained with that of birds of prey from the same locality and with those published previously on owls and birds of prey from Galicia (Spain). A total of 19 helminth taxa were found in owls from Calabria. Statistical comparison showed only marginal differences between scops owls (Otus scops) and little owls (Athene noctua) and tawny owls (Strix aluco). It would indicate that all owl …
The role of lantern fish (Myctophidae) in the life-cycle of cetacean parasites from western Mediterranean waters
Myctophids (lantern fish) and cephalopods play a key role in trophic webs from the continental slope and oceanic waters linking the zooplankton to top predators. Many cetaceans feed on both lantern fish and cephalopods, and such prey would thus be expected to bridge the trophic gap in the life-cycles of helminths infecting cetaceans. However, information on the life-cycles of most of these helminths is extremely scanty. We examined the parasite fauna of myctophids and cephalopods in two areas from the western Mediterranean where at least 21 helminth taxa from cetaceans have been reported and both cetacean diversity and abundance is high. A total of 1012 individuals of 8 lantern fish species…
Parasite assemblages in the Western whip snakeHierophis viridiflavus carbonarius(Colubridae) from southern Italy
AbstractParasite assemblages of the Western whip snakeHierophis viridiflavus carbonariuswere investigated from the Calabria region in southern Italy. A total of 14 parasite taxa including 6 nematodes, 3 acanthocephalans, 2 cestodes, 2 digeneans and a single pentastomid was identified. Within the study area,H. v. carbonariusserves as the final host for seven species of helminths, of which only four (Hexametra quadricornis,Kalicephalus viperae,Paracapillaria sonsinoiandRenifer aniarum) can be considered as snake specialists, while one (Oswaldocruzia filiformis) is shared with other reptiles and amphibians, and two (Paradistomum mutabileandRhabdias fuscovenosa) with lizards. A large proportion…