A pathogenic Asian nematode species of Camallanus, C. cotti Fujita, 1927, was found in New Caledonia, South Pacific, for the first time; it was recorded from two native fishes, Awaous guamensis (Valenciennes) (Gobiidae) (prevalence 51%, intensity 1-25) and Kuhlia marginata (Cuvier) (Kuhliidae) (a single specimen found), of the La Foa River, about 100 km north of Nouméa; the latter represents a new host record. Morphological data on C. cotti based on New Caledonian specimens and those previously collected from aquarium-kept Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Cantor) in Canada have been provided. The SEM examination of C. cotti, applied for the first time in this species, made it possible to study some of its morphological details; first-stage larvae from the female's uterus were found to possess several digit-like processes on the tail tip, not previously reported for any species of the Camallanidae. Camallanus moraveci Petter, Cassone et France, 1974 is considered a junior synonym of C. cotti. A list of hitherto recorded hosts of C. cotti is provided. Camallanus cotti is assumed to be introduced into New Caledonia along with the introduction of the exotic poeciliid fishes, which are known to be among the most common hosts of C. cotti in aquarium cultures worldwide.
V první polovině 90. let 20. stol. byl podroben analýze rostlinných makrozbytků soubor vzorků z raně novověké odpadní jímky. Početné rostlinné diaspory (30 000) potvrdily ve shodě s archeologickými nálezy artefaktů, že jímka byla zaplněna na poč. 17. stol. především odpadem z hradčanského špitálu, na jehož dvoře se nacházela. Z celkového počtu zaznamenaných taxonů (175–185) připadala více než polovina na užitkové rostliny, až sto taxonů vykazuje vlastnosti drogy. Mezi četnými druhy ovoce, kořeninových a léčivých rostlin byly zachyceny mj. druhy z archeologických objektů v ČR neudávané (Nicotiana rustica – semeno, Buxus sempervirens – listy). Nálezy zbytků introdukovaných druhů mají význam především z hlediska historie rostlin v českých zemích. and In the first half of the 1990’s a set of samples from a post-Medieval cesspit was submitted to an analysis of vegetal macroremains. Numerous vegetal diasporas (as much as 30 000) confirmed, in compliance with archaeological finds of artefacts, that the cesspit was filled in the first half of the 17th century mainly with the waste coming from the hospital in whose yard it was situated (Prague-Hradčany). More than a half from the total number of recorded taxa (175–185) was determined as utility plants. As much as one hundred of the taxa show the properties of a drug. Among the numerous species of fruit, spices and medicinal plants also the species not occurring in the archaeological objects within the Czech Republic (Nicotiana rustica – seed, Buxus sempervirens – leaves) were determined. The finds of the remains of introduced species are important especially from the point of view of the history of the plants cultivated within the Czech Lands.
Spring and summer composition and species richness of bruchid pre-dispersal seed predator assemblages associated with species of leguminous plants were monitored in a four-year non-experimental survey of 32 service areas along five highways in Hungary. The vegetation bands along highways (delimited by fences) were considered a special type of ecotone where herbaceous plants are exposed to regular mowing and therefore the composition of the vegetation there is very different from the adjacent vegetation. Altogether 57 herbaceous and woody species of leguminous plants were recorded at these sites, harbouring 20 autochthonous, 3 allochthonous, but established, and 4 recently introduced species of bruchid seed predators (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae). The species of leguminous plants recorded along highway verges during this project make up approximately one fourth of the Fabaceae in Hungary and of the bruchids ca. 80 % (!) of the species known to occur in Hungary. At half of the service areas, mowing decreased the species richness of leguminous plants compared to that recorded prior to mowing, but not that of their bruchid seed predators. However, the species composition of the bruchid assemblages before and after mowing changed substantially. Null-model analyses indicated a random organization of spring assemblages and a deterministic one of summer assemblages of bruchids; very likely a result of host-specificity constraints. Calculations of host specificity confirmed the narrow host range recorded for bruchids that emerged from the samples of plants, in spite of new host records, such as three and two Trifolium species for Bruchidius picipes and Bi. sp. prope varius sensu Anton, respectively, Oxytropis pilosa for Bi. marginalis and Vicia cracca for Bruchus brachialis. Our results show that a surprisingly high number of species of bruchids occur in highway margins, however, the management of the vegetation there prevents a substantial portion of the native bruchid fauna establishing permanent populations.
1. A study was made by knockdown sampling and branch clipping of the arthropod fauna of two native oaks (Quercus petraea and Q. robur) and of two introduced species (Q. cerris and Q. ilex) in woods near Oxford, U.K., and of two native species (Q. ilex and Q. pubescens) in southern France. Sampling was undertaken for five years in England and four years in France. All the phytophagous species except Acarina and Cecidomyidae from the Oxford samples were identified to species.
2. In England a marked seasonal pattern was observed in all years: chewing insects peaked in May, followed sequentially by sucking species, leaf miners and gall formers. The May peak on the native trees is much larger in terms of individuals, and especially in biomass, than on the introduced species. This peak is well known to provide an important food source for several species of woodland bird.
3. Most phytophages were much less abundant on the introduced oaks than on the native species. This is probably due more to the features of the leaves, than to the introduced status per se.
4. The species richness of the fauna was estimated by three methods on the basis of the total projected number of species (Smax), and its specificity to oak by reference to the known host range as recorded in the standard reference works.
5. The species richness of Heteroptera and Coleoptera on the deciduous oaks in their natural habitats (Q. petraea and Q. robur in England, Q. pubescens in France) are similar.
6. The fauna of the evergreen Q. ilex has a similar species richness both in France, where it is native, and in England, where it is introduced and where its phytophage guild is smaller than that of the deciduous species. In England the extent of oak specificity on Q. ilex is less than that of the deciduous species.
7. In England the phytophage fauna of the deciduous and introduced Q. cerris has a species richness considerably greater than that found on Q. ilex, but somewhat less than that of the deciduous and native oaks. However, the specificity of this fauna to oaks was not significantly different to that of the fauna on the native oaks.
Stomatocystis goerresi sp. n., a gregarine (phylum Apicomplexa, Monocystidae) parasite of an important invasive earthworm in North America, Amynthas tokioensis (Beddard), is described. This is the second species placed into the genus, and details of its morphology and life cycle support Stomatocystis Bandyopadhyay, Mitra et Göçmen, 2006 as a valid taxon. The new species is described using standard nomenclature, measurements, shape descriptors, and photographs of living cells. The parasite was found only in A. tokioensis, and absent in sympatric earthworm species, suggesting it arrived when the earthworms were introduced from their origin from Japan. The species is distinctive from the type species in the genus, S. indica Bandyopadhyay, Mitra et Göçmen, 2006, in being substantially larger in all stages, found in only the host's seminal vesicles, and found in a different host species from East Asia. The distinctive trophozoites/gamonts develop a large funnel structure ringed with a collar of pronounced ridges, and the funnel appears even in the smallest cells. This funnel varies greatly in relative size (to the cell body) and shape, sometimes forming a large fan. The life cycle of S. goerresi is described including distinctive syzygy in which the funnels fuse and then produce a large cell with local centres of isogamete production (thus sex without gender). Gametes are large ( ~5 μm) spheres with complex tips. Oocyst production is large, > 1,000 per mature gametocyst. The genus Stomatocystis is placed into the Monocystidae, but the life cycle of the new species differs from those of other monocystid taxa, which may mean the Monocystidae are not monophyletic or life cycles are variable within the family. Prevalence of S. goerresi at the type locality was high (~ 90%). The parasites destroy the earthworm's organ of sperm self-storage thus eliminating the male function in the hermaphroditic host which may influence the ability of the earthworm to invade and be successful at new sites
1. A study was made by knockdown sampling and branch clipping of the arthropod fauna of the canopy of two native oak species (Quercus robur and Q. petraea) and of two introduced species (Q. cerris and Q. ilex ) in woods near Oxford, UK, and of two native species (Q. pubescens and Q. ilex) in southern France. Sampling was undertaken for five years in the UK and for four years in France. All the specimens from the UK, except Acarina, Collembola and Nematocera were identified to species or, occasionally, to morphotype.
2. In terms of overall numbers, species richness and biomass, the results for Q. robur and Q. petraea in the UK were very similar. Their samples contained over three times the biomass and nearly double the number of species compared with those from the introduced oak species (Q. cerris and Q. ilex).
3. The ordinal composition was very similar on Q. robur and Q. petraea, and that on Q. cerris showed closer concordance to the composition of these trees than to that of Q. ilex in the UK. The ordinal composition of the faunas of the two native oak species in France showed closer concordance to each other than to any of the oak species in the UK. The proportion of Psocoptera was much higher in the UK, and that of Thysanoptera was higher in France.
4. The guild composition in terms of numbers, species richness and biomass were closely correlated on Q. robur and Q. petraea, and on Q. robur in two different woods, which argues for an underlying determinism in the development of community structure. The guild composition on the introduced species (Q. cerris and Q. ilex) was most closely correlated when expressed as species richness.
5. The similarity of the guild composition on the oak species in the UK in terms of the actual species found was tested by a modified Sørensen's Index. This showed that the guilds could be ranked in the following order of decreasing similarity: epiphyte fauna, tourists, scavengers, phytophages, parasitoids-predators.
6. There were distinct seasonal patterns. In terms of species richness the values showed a general trend peaking in summer and early autumn, but biomass peaked in May on the native oak species, mainly due to Lepidopterous larvae. The ratio of prey to predator and parasitoid biomass had a distinct seasonal pattern, there being an excess of prey in May, but almost an equivalence throughout the rest of the season. This may reflect the high population of spiders in the late summer and autumn, which are likely to feed on tourists. Most classical ecosystem models do not allow for this latter important source of food that is not itself dependent on the communities' habitat.
7. The epiphyte dwelling guild (principally grazing Psocoptera) was a major component of the fauna in terms of numbers on the evergreen Q. ilex in UK. This has been reported for other studies of evergreen species in temperate climates.