Search

Earth is rapidly losing free-living species. Is the same true for parasitic species? To reveal temporal trends in biodiversity, historical data are needed, but often such data do not exist for parasites. Here, parasite communities of the past were reconstructed by identifying parasites in fluid-preserved specimens held in natural history collections. Approximately 2500 macroparasites were counted from 109 English Sole (Parophrys vetulus) collected between 1930 and 2019 in the Salish Sea, Washington, USA. Alpha and beta diversity were measured to determine if and how diversity changed over time. Species richness of parasite infracommunities and community dispersion did not vary over time, but community composition of decadal component communities varied significantly over the study period. Community dissimilarity also varied: prior to the mid-20th century, parasites shifted in abundance in a seemingly stochastic manner and, after this time period, a canalization of community change was observed, where species' abundances began to shift in consistent directions. Further work is needed to elucidate potential drivers of these changes and to determine if these patterns are present in the parasite communities of other fishes of the Salish Sea.

The air sacs of free-ranging birds of prey (n= 652) from southern Italy, including 11 species of Accipitriformes and six of Falconiforms, were examined for infections with Serratospiculumtendo (Nematoda: Diplotriaenoidea). Of the 17 species of birds examined, 25 of 31 (80.6%) peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) from Calabria Region and a single northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) from Campania Region were infected with S. tendo, suggesting a strong host specificity for the peregrine falcon. The northern goshawk and 18 of 25 infected peregrine falcons showed cachexia and all infected birds had bone fractures. At gross examination, air sacculitis and pneumonia were the most common lesions in infected birds. Microscopically, the air-sac walls showed thickening of the smooth muscle cells, resulting in a papillary appearance, along with hyperplasia of the mesothelium and epithelium, and foci of plasma cell infiltration and macrophages associated with several embryonated eggs and adult parasites. Extensive areas of inflammation were found in the lungs, characterized by lymphocytes, macrophages and fibroblasts surrounding embryonated eggs. The northern goshawk also had detachment of the dextral lung with several necrotic foci. In this case, the death of the bird was directly attributed to S. tendo infection. Lesions and pathological changes observed here suggest that S. tendo can cause disease.

Very little is known about parasitic diseases of eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). The objective of this study was to examine the parasitic fauna of eastern box turtles collected from southern Indiana, USA. Turtles (n = 40) were salvaged mostly as road kills from southern Indiana between May and October 2009. Seven species of helminths in total were found parasitizing the gastrointestinal tract, including two digenean trematodes (Brachycoelium salamandrae and Telorchis robustus) and five nematodes (Oswaldocruzia pipiens, Cosmocercoides dukae, Falcaustra affinis, F. chelydrae and Serpinema trispinosus). We report prevalence, abundance and mean intensity of infection for all helminths. Helminths were not found in any other organs examined (heart, gonads, liver, heart, kidney and urinary bladder) and no ectoparasites were found. Overall, mean intensity of infections was low (1–14 parasites/host), suggesting that these parasites are unlikely to be associated with negative health impacts. This constitutes the first study of this kind for Indiana.