Patterns of host use by parasites throughout a guild community of intermediate hosts can depend on several biological and ecological factors, including physiology, morphology, immunology, and behavior. We looked at parasite transmission in the intertidal crustacean community of Lower Portobello Bay, Dunedin, New Zealand, with the intent of: (1) mapping the flow of parasites throughout the major...

The fauna communities of ephemeral pools in southern Chile are characterized by heterogeneity of crustacean taxa; nevertheless, no detailed studies exist of their community structure. The aim of the present study was to analyze the crustacean community structure in two groups of ephemeral pools (Puaucho and Nigue pools) in the coastal zone of the Araucanía region. A correlation matrix was made ...

> Abstract 150 years after Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species’ and 100 years after W.T. Calman’s infl uential treatment on crustacean morphology and classifi cation, crustacean phylogenetics remains an active, exciting and controversial fi eld of research. An international symposium held from 7th–11th October 2008 at the University of Rostock attempted to summarize the latest developments. Molecular e...

Ecdysteroids, primarily 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), play a central role in the growth of arthropods. Molecular target of the ecdysteroids is known as a receptor complex composed of ecdysone receptor (EcR) and ultraspiracle (USP) protein. It is important to clarify the expression profile of EcR/USP in crustacean for understanding the endocrine disrupting effects of environmental xenobiotics on cru...

BACKGROUND The use of astaxanthin in different industries such as the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, animal feed and cosmetic has been receiving increasing attention in recent years. Natural supplies of the pigment include crustacean by-products, algal, and microbial cultivation, being the yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous together with the alga Haematococcus pluvialis the most promising mic...