Helminths in ruffed grouse at the host's southeastern range boundary

Carcasses of 268 ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) collected in eastern Tennessee (USA) from October 1983 through February 1988 were examined between 16 January 1985 and 25 April 1988 for non-filarioid helminths. Three nematode species and one cestode species were found. The two most common parasites were the cecal worm Heterakis bonasae (81% prevalence, mean intensity +/- SD of 62 +/- 114) and the tapeworm Echinolepis carioca (27% prevalence, 30 +/- 73 mean intensity). Age and sex of host were sufficient to predict infection by both common species. Condition of host and year and month of collection also had significant effects on prevalence. Intensity of cecal worm infection varied with age and condition of host and with region and month of collection.

Helminth fauna of Anas undulata, Anas erythrorhyncha, Anas capensis and Anas smithii at Barberspan, South Africa

Thirty-four species of gastrointestinal helminths were found in 25 Anas undulata, 21 Anas erythrorhyncha, ten Anas capensis and seven Anas smithii collected at Barberspan, South Africa. Excluding four new taxa, 11 new African records, and 14, 11, 12 and nine new host records were established for Anas undulata, Anas erythrorhyncha, Anas capensis and Anas smithii, respectively. The helminth community included 13 cosmopolitan species, seven species known only from the holarctic, one species known only from the south Pacific and 13 new or unidentified species that appear to be restricted to Africa. The infection levels of the common helminth species in the mainly carnivorous Anas capensis and Anas smithii, were generally much higher than those of species infecting Anas undulata or Anas erythrorhyncha.

Metazoan parasites of sika deer from east Hokkaido, Japan and ecological analyses of their abomasal nematodes

Metazoan parasites of 50 sika deer (Cervus nippon yezoensis) collected in March 1991 in the Ashoro District in east Hokkaido, Japan, were evaluated. Ten species of helminths and three species of ectoparasites were obtained. Estimated abundance of males of two species of abomasal nematodes, Spiculopteragia houdemeri and Rinadia andreevae, were positively correlated with each other, and were overdispersed; S. houdemeri followed Poisson's and R. andreevae followed a negative binomial distribution. No significant relationship was detected between the estimated abundance of males of these two nematode species and nutritional condition of the hosts. Using a general linear model, the fourth-root transformed estimated abundance of male S. houndemeri was influenced by the main effects of host sex and age. This phenomenon was attributable to the ecological and behavioral features of the deer. The low diversity of the abomasal nematode community was regarded as the result of the extinction of some species of nematodes on Hokkaido Island.

Parasitism of Gobius bucchichii Steindachner, 1870 (Teleostei, Gobiidae) in protected and unprotected marine environments

We collected 396 Gobius bucchichii, Steindachner, 1870 (Teleostei, Gobiidae) in and around the marine reserve of Cerbère-Banyuls, in the southeast of France, between March and July 1994. Five species of adult parasites were found: one acanthocephalan, Acanthocephaloides propinquus Dujardin, 1845 (Acanthocephala, Arhythmacanthidae); one nematode, Cucullanus sp. (Nematoda, Cucullanidae); and three species of digenetic trematodes, Helicometra sp. (Digenea, Opecoelidae), Derogenes sp. (Digenea, Hemiuridae) and Deretrema scorpaenicola Bartoli, 1990 (Digenea, Zoogonidae). Fishes collected in a protected area were on average, larger, older, had a higher percentage of regenerated scales, and harbored more parasites.