No description available.

No description available.

Metagonimoides oregonensis is a digenetic trematode that infects raccoons as definitive hosts, the snail Elimia proxima as a first intermediate host and in the southern Appalachians, encysts in the muscle tissue of a variety of second intermediate salamander hosts. My first study examined 289 individual salamanders representing six species from 23 streams in North Carolina to determine which species of salamanders are naturally infected.  I found that five of the six species examined had natural infections, but that there was variation in infection intensity and prevalence among the species. Of the six species, Desmognathus quadramaculatus may be most important in transmission, as they had the highest prevalence and intensity of infection. This may be due to their long larval period, which results in a longer trematode accrual period.  My second study explored the role of host and parasite behavior in driving infection dynamics in this system. I examined both parasite response to host chemical cues and host response to parasite presence and chemical cues. I did not see a behavioral response by either the parasite or the host, indicating behavior is probably less important in determining variable infection among hosts in this system, than are environmental and ecological factors. My final study examined the effect of cercariae exposure (n=0, 20, 60) on locomotor performance of D. quadramaculatus, Eurycea wilderae and Hyla versicolor. I did not see any effect on locomotor performance for any of the species. / Master of Science

No description available.

No description available.

M.Sc. / A general introduction provides the foremost morphological characteristics of the genus. A breeding colony of Argulus japonicus was kept under laboratory conditions in order to study sperm transfer. Pairs in copula were studied with histology and scanning electron microscopy. Sections of copulating pairs revealed sperm on the accessory copulatory structures of the male; and scanning electron microscopy showed that sperm transfer occurs in three phases which can be differentiated to ten different stages. Sperm transfer occurs via a spermatophore in A. japonicus. This is the first observation of a spermatophore in Argulus. For the second part of this study, seven specimens of an unknown freshwater ectoparasitic crustacean were collected from red tilapia fish, kept for consumption at the “Langat Fishing, Seafood and Beer Garden” Restaurant just off the Langat River in Selangor, Malaysia. Initial investigation showed that the specimens were of the genus Argulus. Light and scanning electron microscopical studies were subsequently used to identify the species. A comparison with all Argulus species formerly described from Asia and the surrounding islands was conducted. The species was identified as Argulus coregoni, due to the presence of the roughly triangular shaped anterior respiratory areas and the kidney bean shaped posterior respiratory areas. Additionally, the abdomen with sharply pointed terminal ends as well as the presence of characteristic accessory protrusions on the second ii swimming leg of the male specimens confirmed this identification. This species has not previously been described from Malaysia. The final chapter of this dissertation contains an overall summative discussion of the different parts of this study and highlights future possible research avenues.

Typescript, etc. / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1932 B41

No description available.

No description available.