Most marine invertebrates have a complex life cycle involving a benthic adult phase, and a planktonic larval phase. The process whereby tiny larvae are able to locate, settle and metamorphose in a habitat where juveniles are then capable of successfully establishing themselves is a key stage in the life cycle and a central theme of current marine research. Bacterial biofilms are an important settlement cue for many larvae, and it appears that particular strains within environmental communities may be responsible for the inducing ability of some biofilms. The focus of this thesis is the importance of biofilms for larval settlement of the blacklip abalone Haliotis rubra and the sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma. Larval development of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii was also examined, but this species was problematic for a larval settlement study. H. rubra larval settlement occurred in response to several macroalgal species. Biofilmed (but otherwise abiotic) surfaces did not induce settlement of H. rubra larvae and reduction of surface films of bacteria and diatoms on inducing algae did not reduce the settlement response. Macroalgae, particularly green algal species, may play an important role in the recruitment of H. rubra larvae in the field and can be used to induce settlement in hatcheries. H. erythrogramma settled in response to a range of surfaces with highest settlement on coralline algae. Settlement was reduced by autoclaving plants and treating plants with antibiotics. Molecular and culture based analysis revealed a shift in microbial community structure between plants treated with antibiotics and unmanipulated plants. Many bacterial strains, dominated by the genera Pseudoalteromonas, Shewanella and Vibrio, induced larval settlement. Three probes targeting Pseudoalteromonas, Shewanella and Vibrio were developed for CARD-FISH, enabling quantification of these genera in biofilms on algae. The three genera were found in highest numbers on coralline algae and in variable numbers on the surfaces of other algae. Recruitment of H. erythrogramma also occurs in highest numbers on coralline algae, and in low amounts on co-occurring algae. This is the first example demonstrating that bacteria that induce settlement in the laboratory are also present in the juvenile recruitment habitat.

viii, 139, xii leaves : ill. ; 26 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Microbiology, 1974

Iron mining began in Wawa, Ontario in the late 1800s and ceased in 1998. The sintering process of iron pyrite produced sulfur dioxide which led to the acidification of nearby lakes. Benthic macroinvertebrate samples were collected from lakes along a gradient of historical impairment in Wawa to examine the extent to which the benthos of the lakes would separate along the historical impairment gradient. The results show that the lakes are not separated along a gradient of impairment, and acid-intolerant taxa were collected in previously acidified lakes. There was no ameliorative intervention to combat the historical acidification and the observed recovery of water chemistry and benthos is entirely due to natural ecosystem processes. The two sampling methods (littoral kick sampling using a D-net and Hester-Dendy substrates) used to sample the benthos in these lakes can lead to substantial differences in the taxa collected.

Iron mining began in Wawa, Ontario in the late 1800s and ceased in 1998. The sintering process of iron pyrite produced sulfur dioxide which led to the acidification of nearby lakes. Benthic macroinvertebrate samples were collected from lakes along a gradient of historical impairment in Wawa to examine the extent to which the benthos of the lakes would separate along the historical impairment gradient. The results show that the lakes are not separated along a gradient of impairment, and acid-intolerant taxa were collected in previously acidified lakes. There was no ameliorative intervention to combat the historical acidification and the observed recovery of water chemistry and benthos is entirely due to natural ecosystem processes. The two sampling methods (littoral kick sampling using a D-net and Hester-Dendy substrates) used to sample the benthos in these lakes can lead to substantial differences in the taxa collected.

Within Southern Ontario urban development is rapidly devouring headwater systems, and this can have significant repercussions to the health of entire river networks. The ecological contributions of headwaters to downstream aquatic systems are poorly understood. The relationships between exported organic material (invertebrates, organic detritus) and land use were examined from 16 headwater systems (13 ephemeral channels, 3 intermittent channels) located in and around the Toronto Region. Drift traps, precipitation and crest stage gauges were installed at each location to capture exported materials, measure rainfall and estimate peak flow, respectively. Samples were collected during runoff events, snow melt or precipitation from March through November 2008. The amount of snow melt or precipitation necessary to trigger surface runoff was found to be highly dependent on land use and antecedent conditions. Invertebrates of aquatic and terrestrial origin were collected, with aquatic animals comprising 43% and 87% of the total from ephemeral and intermittent headwaters, respectively. The mean export of organic materials was 963 invertebrates per event (0.65 g) and 32.0 g of plant matter per event. The amount of materials transported was highly variable among samples (1 – 13,751 invertebrates per event). Within ephemeral channels, Annelida, Insecta and Chironomidae were the most numerous aquatic taxa (representing 40%, 24% and 23% of the total number of invertebrates transported per event, respectively), while Mollusca, Arachnida and Insecta were the most numerous terrestrial taxa (representing 35%, 21% and 16% of the total number of invertebrates transported per event, respectively). Earthworms contributed 64% of the total invertebrate volume collected per event. Chironomidae, Crustacea and Trichoptera were the most numerous aquatic taxa collected from intermittent channels (representing 55%, 27% and 8% of the total number of invertebrates transported per event, respectively), whereas Arachnida, Insecta, and Collembola were the most numerous terrestrial taxa (representing 52%, 19% and 13% of the total number of invertebrates transported per event, respectively). Trichoptera accounted for 59% of the total aquatic invertebrate volume collected per event. Preliminary results suggest that the ecological contributions of headwaters to downstream systems are considerable and their importance should not be overlooked.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Intestinal schistosomiasis, caused by the trematode parasite Schistosoma mansoni, is a disease of major public health importance in the Lake Victoria region. Accurate information pertaining to the disease's distribution can greatly assist in the maintenance and realignment of existing control strategies. Rapid mapping of disease prevalence is reliant on diagnostic technologies; in the case of intestinal schistosomiasis, traditional stool-based methods are beginning to be complimented with new, rapid diagnostic tools. However, these require extensive validation, in a variety of settings, to determine their efficacy and field-utility. Similarly, diagnostic tests are influenced by other factors, such as the level of endemicity of the parasite, or even intraspecific factors such as genetic diversity. Preliminary research has shown S. mansoni to have high levels of genetic diversity throughout East Africa, although its population dynamics within Lake Victoria have never been explored in detail. Local transmission of the parasite is determined by the presence of compatible snails of the genus Biomphalaria. which act as the intermediate host for S. mansoni. As such, basic distribution mapping of the presence and abundance of Biomphalaria around Lake Victoria will better reveal potential risk areas for transmission; these data could also lead to a greater understanding of the specific environmental conditions preferred by Biomphalaria, allowing for predictive mapping of suitable transmission environments. Sophisticated geostatistical tools have facilitated this process, although new, Bayesian models, which have yielded dividends in parasite mapping, have yet to be applied to intermediate host distribution mapping. There is evidence for species-level differences in compatibility with S. mansoni; the taxonomy of Biomphalaria is confused and confusing, with two suspected species being present in Lake Victoria, but these populations have never been subject to detailed classification scrutiny. Similarly, there may be intraspecific effects on transmission compatibility; population level analysis would elucidate patterns of genetic variation across Lake Victoria. Taking both the genetics and ecological preferences of Biomphalaria into consideration, there may be an effect of scale, which should be explored. Patterns that are found to be significant at the level of Lake Victoria may not hold true at a local scale, crucial for the local transmission biology of the parasite. For example, research has suggested that the presence of other gastropods could reduce the abundance of Biomphalaria, through competitive effects. Diversity may influence the transmission of schistosomiasis at the level of the terminal host as well; it is well known that rodents are capable of acting as reservoirs for S. mansoni, as are numerous nonhuman primates. However, within the context of Lake Victoria, non-human primates have rarely been comprehensively surveyed for the disease, despite the obvious implications for conservation, as well as the potential effect on maintaining local transmission cycles even in the face of treatment campaigns. The research presented in the following thesis sought to address the above themes, relating to the dynamics of S. mansoni and Biomphalaria in Lake Victoria. Through a series of four field expeditions to the Ugandan, Tanzanian and Kenyan shorelines of Lake Victoria, data were collected pertaining to the distribution of S. mansoni in school-age children; 27 schools in Uganda were first surveyed for prevalence and intensity of infection. Questionnaires revealed high levels of migration among the school-children, with high levels of itinerancy also associated with increased risk of being infected with S. mansoni and of missing school-based treatment with praziquantel. Later surveys in Tanzania and Kenya compared prevalence of infection as diagnosed by Kato-Katz stool thick smears against a novel, urine-based, rapid diagnostic called the cathodic cirulating antigen (CCA) dipstick. The CCA performed well, with good agreement against the Kato-Katz diagnostic and high sensitivity and specificity in this high-endemicity environment. However, when the CCA tests were used alongside Kato-Katz thick smears in the Ssesse Islands in Uganda, the agreement was not so good, suggesting that different transmission environments may affect the efficacy of diagnostic tests, and moreover, may result in widely discordant treatment recommendations being put forward. Throughout all of these field expeditions, stool samples were also used for hatching of schistosome eggs and miracidia were collected and stored on Whatman® FT A cards for later molecular analysis. Combined with DNA sequences obtained from cercariae from shedding snails and adult worms passaged in the laboratory, genetic material was obtained from 25 sites along the shoreline of Lake Victoria, representative of all three countries. Using both cytochrome oxidase sub-unit 1 (COl) and microsatellite DNA markers, population genetics analyses revealed extremely high genetic diversity, consistent with previous research, but also low levels of population structuring, with no clear geographical patterns. This contrasted with earlier work which had suggested that the populations of S. mansoni ; in Lake Albert and Lake Victoria appeared segregated; the greater and more extensive sampling presented in this thesis revealed a cross-over of haplotypes between the two lakes, potentially associated again with human migration throughout the region, but also suggesting that adaptation and compatibility with local Biomphalaria populations for successful transmission might be less crucial than previously assumed. In order to investigate the distribution and genetics of Biomphalaria, as well as relate these patterns to the transmission of S. mansoni, malacological surveys were carried out at 223 sites across the Lake Victoria shoreline. Two forms of Biomphalaria, based on shell characteristics, were observed; B. sudanica-like snails were commonly associated in marsh-like habitats whereas B. choanomphala-type snails were more usually found in the lake proper. These observations, together with a number of other environmental variables, were statistically tested using multivariate models within a Bayesian inference framework, a method which has never previously been used on snail intermediate host distributions. The models revealed different factors as being Significant predictors of B. sudanica versus B. choanomphala presence, reinforcing the hypothesis of habitat segregation between the two forms. Closer examination of the two forms of Biomphalaria found suggested intermediate shell forms as well as the more easily recognised B. choanomphala-like and B. sudanica-like forms. In order to elucidate the taxonomy of these various forms, a detailed molecular and morphological assessment was carried out on 7 populations of Biomphalaria. Morphologically, principal component analysis (PCA) of shell measurements, aperture outlines and internal anatomy measurements revealed overlapping groupings, supporting the earlier observation of intermediate forms. CrUcially, there were no clear species-level divisions in the genetic data; the groupings that were observed were not significantly associated with those according to morphology. These data combined to imply that the Biomphalaria in Lake Victoria should be considered one species, with two ecophentoypic variants: B. choanomphala var. choanomphala and B. choanomphala var. sudan;ca. Population level analysis of a total of 29 populations revealed significant levels of population structuring with strong geographical patterns; given these local variations, yet also considering the very different patterns observed for S. mansoni, these findings could suggest that local compatibility is less of a restriction on the spread of the parasite than previously thought.

No description available.

Within Southern Ontario urban development is rapidly devouring headwater systems, and this can have significant repercussions to the health of entire river networks. The ecological contributions of headwaters to downstream aquatic systems are poorly understood. The relationships between exported organic material (invertebrates, organic detritus) and land use were examined from 16 headwater systems (13 ephemeral channels, 3 intermittent channels) located in and around the Toronto Region. Drift traps, precipitation and crest stage gauges were installed at each location to capture exported materials, measure rainfall and estimate peak flow, respectively. Samples were collected during runoff events, snow melt or precipitation from March through November 2008. The amount of snow melt or precipitation necessary to trigger surface runoff was found to be highly dependent on land use and antecedent conditions. Invertebrates of aquatic and terrestrial origin were collected, with aquatic animals comprising 43% and 87% of the total from ephemeral and intermittent headwaters, respectively. The mean export of organic materials was 963 invertebrates per event (0.65 g) and 32.0 g of plant matter per event. The amount of materials transported was highly variable among samples (1 – 13,751 invertebrates per event). Within ephemeral channels, Annelida, Insecta and Chironomidae were the most numerous aquatic taxa (representing 40%, 24% and 23% of the total number of invertebrates transported per event, respectively), while Mollusca, Arachnida and Insecta were the most numerous terrestrial taxa (representing 35%, 21% and 16% of the total number of invertebrates transported per event, respectively). Earthworms contributed 64% of the total invertebrate volume collected per event. Chironomidae, Crustacea and Trichoptera were the most numerous aquatic taxa collected from intermittent channels (representing 55%, 27% and 8% of the total number of invertebrates transported per event, respectively), whereas Arachnida, Insecta, and Collembola were the most numerous terrestrial taxa (representing 52%, 19% and 13% of the total number of invertebrates transported per event, respectively). Trichoptera accounted for 59% of the total aquatic invertebrate volume collected per event. Preliminary results suggest that the ecological contributions of headwaters to downstream systems are considerable and their importance should not be overlooked.

No description available.