Search results for "Gastropods"
showing 7 items of 7 documents
Monitoring the reproductive activity in captive bred female ball pythons (P. regius) by ultrasound evaluation and noninvasive analysis of faecal repr…
2018
The royal python (Python regius) is commonly bred in captivity. To have a successful breeding season, accurate monitoring of the reproductive activity is necessary. The use of non-invasive monitoring methods in exotics is important in order to minimize stress. For this purpose ultrasound has been anecdotally used to monitor royal python reproductive activity. However, there is limited information regarding the reproductive cycle of this species. The aim of the present study is to monitor the female reproductive cycle of the royal python using ultrasonography and gonadal steroid metabolite measurements in the faeces. The reproductive activity of one hundred twenty-nine adult female P. regius…
The conservation status of the world's freshwater molluscs
2021
With the biodiversity crisis continuing unchecked, we need to establish levels and drivers of extinction risk, and reassessments over time, to effectively allocate conservation resources and track progress towards global conservation targets. Given that threat appears particularly high in freshwaters, we assessed the extinction risk of 1428 randomly selected freshwater molluscs using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, as part of the Sampled Red List Index project. We show that close to one-third of species in our sample are estimated to be threatened with extinction, with highest levels of threat in the Nearctic, Palearctic and Australasia and among gastropods. Threat levels were hi…
DNA multigene characterization of Fasciola hepatica and Lymnaea neotropica and its fascioliasis transmission capacity in Uruguay, with historical cor…
2017
Background Fascioliasis is a pathogenic disease transmitted by lymnaeid snails and recently emerging in humans, in part due to effects of climate changes, anthropogenic environment modifications, import/export and movements of livestock. South America is the continent presenting more human fascioliasis hyperendemic areas and the highest prevalences and intensities known. These scenarios appear mainly linked to altitude areas in Andean countries, whereas lowland areas of non-Andean countries, such as Uruguay, only show sporadic human cases or outbreaks. A study including DNA marker sequencing of fasciolids and lymnaeids, an experimental study of the life cycle in Uruguay, and a review of hum…
Inbreeding does not alter the response to an experimental heat wave in a freshwater snail
2019
Global climate change affects natural populations of many species by increasing the average temperature and the frequency of extreme weather events (e.g. summer heat waves). The ability of organisms to cope with these environmental changes can, however, depend on their genetic properties. For instance, genetic load owing to inbreeding could alter organisms’ responses to climate change-mediated environmental changes but such effects are often overlooked. We investigated the effects of an experimental heat wave (25°C versus 15°C) on life history (reproduction, size) and constitutive immune defence traits (phenoloxidase-like and antibacterial activity of haemolymph) in relation to inbreeding b…
Intermediate hosts of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Tenerife, Spain.
2015
The nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the causative agent of human angiostrongy- liasis, the main clinical manifestation of which is eosinophilic meningitis. Although this para- site has been found recently in its definitive rat host in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), showing a widespread distribution over the north-east part of the island, there are no avail- able data regarding which snail and/or slug species are acting as intermediate hosts on this island. Consequently, the objective of this work was to determine the possible role of three mollusc species, Plutonia lamarckii , Cornu aspersum and Theba pisana , as intermediate hosts of A . cantonensis in Tenerife. Between 2011 and…
Molluscan antimicrobial peptides, a review from activity-based evidences to computer-assisted sequences
2011
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent the most universal immune effectors. Molluscs constitute the second largest animal phylum, after Arthropods, in term of number of species. Only a negligible number has been investigated regarding AMPs. The choice of the species to be studied relied on their economical importance and availability. First studies on molluscan AMPs dated from 1996 and were based on biological activities of biochemical-purified fractions. Such approach released all the original structures we know, with biological activity sometimes different from one isoform to another. Then, molecular biology techniques were applied to molluscan AMPs starting in 1999. Complete screening o…
Concentrations of PAHs, PCBs and OC pesticides in intertidal marine gastropods of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea).
2009
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic organic compounds able to persist in the Environment for long time. They can be accumulated through food webs and this could be a risk to some extent to threat human health and environmental quality. Marine currents represent further important distribution way of POPs through marine habitats and organisms. In Sicily, no much attention has been paid on POPs distribution on coastal habitats, important reservoirs of biodiversity, even if these are strongly influenced by anthropogenic pressure. In this study, concentrations of PCBs…