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The bacterial diversity in fecal samples of a wild gorilla is described by using a 16S rRNA gene clone library and terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). The results have indicated that fecal populations did not change temporarily, as examined by T-RFLP.

A study was conducted on Asian freshwater clams exposed to water contaminated with infectious Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. No oocysts were detected in the water 24 hours after the contamination event. The percentage of oocyst-containing clams varied from 20 to 100%, depending on the type of tissue examined and the technique used. Positive samples were obtained when gills and gastrointestinal tracts were processed with immunofluorescent antibody. Clam-released oocysts were surrounded by feces, no free oocysts or oocysts dissociated from fecal matter were observed.

Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts obtained from the feces of Peking ducks, innoculated with the oocysts, produces severe infection in neonatal mice. Histological sections of the ducks fail to reveal life-cycle stages of the cryptosporidia. The number of oocyst shells in the feces is less than that of intact oocysts. The number of intact oocyst shells decreases from day two to day five post inoculation. This indicates that the viability and infectivity of the oocysts is unaffected by passage through the duck's intestine.

The in vitro interaction of Asian freshwater clam or Corbicula fluminea hemocytes and Cryptosporidium parvum oocycsts were examined to determine the interactions occurring between them. Results reveal that waterborne oocysts of Cryptosporidium are filtered from water by C. fluminea and are phagocytosed by hemocytes. Environmental factors affect the recovery and phygocytosis of particles and the kinetics of phagocytosis shown in vitro differ from each other.