An unappreciated facet of biodiversity is that rich communities and high abundance may foster parasitism. For parasites that sequentially use different host species throughout complex life cycles, parasite diversity and abundance in 'downstream' hosts should logically increase with the diversity and abundance of 'upstream' hosts (which carry the preceding stages of parasites). Surprisingly, thi...

Endosymbiosis allows hosts to acquire new functional traits such that the combined host and endosymbiont can exploit vacant ecological niches and occupy novel environments [1, 2]; consequently, endosymbiosis affects the structure and function of ecosystems [3, 4]. However, for many endosymbioses, it is unknown whether their evolutionary basis is mutualism or exploitation [5-9]. We estimated the...

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of metacercarial infection in plathyfish imported to Iran. A total of 100 imported live common platyfish (Xiphophorus maculatus) from approximately 24 shipments were collected from a quarantine facility in Iran in 2007 and examined in our veterinary laboratory. Among 800 examined gill arches about 1300 cysts were found in different loc...

many species of the freshwater pulmonate snail family lymnaeidae act as intermediate hosts in the transmission of digenean trematode larvae, including those of the causative agent of fasciolosis. based on this, current investigation was aimed to determine diversity and geographical distribution of lymnaeidae snails and role of biochemical indices in habitat of them in west azerbaijan province, ...

The influence of latent toxoplasmosis on the phenotype , especially on the behaviour, of intermediate hosts has been intensively studied since the mid-1990s. The number of papers dealing with this topic that can be found in the Web of Knowledge SM by using the combination of terms toxoplasm* AND (behavi* OR psychol* OR per-sonalit* OR psychiatri* OR schizophr*) is rapidly in-Most of these paper...

This study is an attempt to classify all described species of African Biomphalaria and Bulinus. It is based upon the author's examination of a great number of specimens collected from many parts of Africa. The variations attributable to age, environment and genetic factors which may be noted in the taxonomic characters are discussed, and some new species and subspecies are established. For each...

Fashuyi S. A., G. O. Adeoye: The Possible Snail Intermediate Hosts of Dicrocoelium hospes in Nigeria. Acta vet. Brno, 55, 1986: 85 -88. Limicolaria /lammea. L. striatula and Lamellaxis gracilis were experimentally infected with larval stages of Dicrocoelium hospes after exposure to embryonated eggs. Limicolaria proved to be more suitable, showing higher infection rates, more mature cercariae an...