Search results for "Skink"
showing 5 items of 5 documents
Trade and stowaways: molecular evidence for human-mediated translocation of eastern skinks into the western Mediterranean
2020
Human movements in the regions surrounding the Mediterranean Sea have caused a great impact in the composition of terrestrial fauna due to the introductions of several allochthonous species, intentionally or not. Reptiles are one of the groups where this anthropic impact is most evident, owing to the extensive intra-Mediterranean dispersals of recent chronologies. Chalcides ocellatus is a widespread skink with a natural distribution that covers almost the entire Mediterranean Basin. Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain its origin: natural dispersions and human translocations. Previous molecular data suggest the occurrence of a recent dispersal phenomenon across the Mediterranean Sea…
Examination of the Helminth Fauna of the Bermuda Skink, Plestiodon longirostris (Scincidae), Utilizing Faecal Analysis
2021
Plestiodon longirostris is a critically endangered endemic skink living in the Bermuda archipelago. To know their intestinal parasites and evaluate the role that they may have in the conservation of the species, we have carried out a faecal analysis of some samples obtained from several populations. This type of analysis is presented as the most suitable for threatened species. The results show that P. longirostris has incorporated parasites from introduced species in Bermuda, and it is a competent host for these parasites. Nevertheless, the low prevalence of infection of these parasites suggests that they are not actually a threat to the endemic skink populations.
The helminth community of the skink Chalcides sexlineatus from Gran Canaria (Canary Islands).
2012
AbstractA survey of the gastrointestinal helminth communities of a population of Chalcides sexlineatus Steindachner, a small skink endemic to Gran Canaria island (Canary Archipelago, Spain), was conducted to determine the prevalence, abundance and species diversity of intestinal parasites in these reptiles. Only three parasite species were found, one cestode, Oochoristica agamae Baylis, 1919 and two nematodes, Parapharyngodon micipsae (Seurat, 1917) and Pharyngodonidae gen. sp. Helminth infracommunities of C. sexlineatus showed low values of abundance and species richness and diversity, being more similar to the helminth community of Tarentola boettgeri boettgeri (Steindachner) rather than …
Unusual change in activity pattern at cool temperature in a reptile (Sphenodon punctatus).
2014
Abstract Animals that can be active both during day and night offer unique opportunities to identify factors that influence activity pattern. By experimental manipulations of temperatures under constant photoperiod, we aimed to determine if emergence, activity and thermoregulatory behaviour of juvenile tuatara ( Sphenodon punctatus ) varied at different temperatures (20 °C, 12 °C and 5 °C). To help clarify its activity pattern, we compared tuatara with two lizard species endemic of the South Island of New Zealand for which activity pattern is known and clearly defined: the nocturnal common gecko Woodworthia “Otago/Southland” and the diurnal McCann׳s skink Oligosoma maccanni . Tuatara showed…
SKINK: a web server for string kernel based kink prediction in α-helices
2014
Abstract Motivation: The reasons for distortions from optimal α-helical geometry are widely unknown, but their influences on structural changes of proteins are significant. Hence, their prediction is a crucial problem in structural bioinformatics. Here, we present a new web server, called SKINK, for string kernel based kink prediction. Extending our previous study, we also annotate the most probable kink position in a given α-helix sequence. Availability and implementation: The SKINK web server is freely accessible at http://biows-inf.zdv.uni-mainz.de/skink. Moreover, SKINK is a module of the BALL software, also freely available at www.ballview.org. Contact: benny.kneissl@roche.com