Afrotropikus csupaszemlegyek (Diptera, Pipunculidae) taxonómiai és faunisztikai kutatása = Taxonomic and faunistic studies of Afrotropical big-headed flies (Diptera, Pipunculidae)

Kutatásom során a világ 23 gyűjteményének afrotropikus régióban gyűjtött Pipunculidae légycsaládba tartozó anyagait vizsgáltam, összesen mintegy 1500 példányt. Ezeket kiegészítettem a Papp Lászlóval közös dél-afrikai expedíció anyagával. Ennek sikerességéhez nagyban hozzájárult az OTKA támogatásával beszerzett kritikuspont-szárító (CPD), mely lehetővé teszi az alkoholos anyagok megfelelő előkészítését a vizsgálatok céljaira. Marc De Meyerrel közös munka eredményeként leírtunk egy új Tomosvaryella fajt (T. olmii) Mozambikból. Tanulmányoztam mind a négy, afrotrópikus régióban előforduló génuszt (Claraeola, Clistoabdominalis, Dasydorylas, Eudorylas) az Eudorylini tribusból és az ide tartozó 78 fajt, melyek közül 21 a tudomány számára újként kerül leírásra. Az összes elérhető típuspéldányt megvizsgáltam, és a fajokat részletesen leírtam. Elkészítettem a hímek és nőstények ivarszerveinek rajzait, valamint - tekintettel arra, hogy a fajok többségénél csak a hím ismert - a hímek határozókulcsát, és minden fajt differenciáldiagnózissal láttam el, amely a könnyebb fajfelismerést segíti. Új szinonimákat javasoltam 9 esetben, valamint megvitattam korábbi szerzők fajleírásainak módszereinek hiányosságait, különös tekintettel D. E. Hardy munkáira, aki az afrotropikus fajok többségének leírója. | During this research I studied Pipunculidae materials collected in the Afrotropical region from 23 different museums and collections worldwide, comprising ca. 1500 specimens. This has been extended with the material resulting from a joint collecting expedition with László Papp in South Africa. The criticalpoint dryier (CPD) added a great value to the research, since it made it possible to study materials stored in alcohol. A new Tomosvaryella species (T. olmii) has been described from Mozambique. All four genera (Claraeola, Clistoabdominalis, Dasydorylas, Eudorylas) of the tribe existing in the Afrotropical Region were examined and 78 species have been treated, 21 of them proved to be new to science. Type material for all available species was studied and species were described in detail. Drawings of male and female genitalia were produced and an identification key to the males (only males were available in the majority of the species) is provided as well as diagnoses for easier species recognition. New synonyms are proposed (in 9 cases) together with discussion on earlier methodology of species descriptions within this group, in particular that of D. E. Hardy's works, who described the majority of the Afrotropical species

Afrotropikus legyek (Diptera) taxonómiai kutatása = Taxonomical study of Afrotropical Diptera

Nyolcvan légycsaládhoz tartozó 10700 példánnyal gazdagítottuk a MTM Állattára gyűjteményét. Elvégeztem az ökológiailag legfontosabb trágyalégy génusz, a Coproica revízióját (12 új faj leírásával). A legfontosabb munka a Limosininae (Sphaeroceridae) alcsalád óvilági génuszainak revíziója (25 új génusz leírásával). Leírtam az első afrotropikus Aulacigastridae, az Aulacigaster africana Barraclough tojását, 2. és 3. stádiumú lárváját, a Diplochasma (Sauteromyia) 8, tudományra új faját, a világ legkisebb Macroceridae legyét (Micromacrocera stenobasis), illetve a fontos trágyalégy génusz, a Chaetopodella 5 új faját. Az eddig publikált cikkekben 26 új génuszt, 4 új szubgénuszt és 59 új fajt írtam le. Szemikvantitatív imágó minták gyűjtésével és identifikálásával megvizsgáltam azt a kérdést, hogy vajon az elefántok eltűnésével kipusztul-e a trágyáján élő gazdag légyközösség. A Shamwari Vadrezervátumban és környékén elefánt- és marhatrágya mintákból 4 légycsalád (Hybotidae, Sepsidae, Sphaeroceridae, Muscidae) 60 fajképviseletét találtam. A kétféle trágya légyegyüttese jelentősen átfed. Valószínűsíthetjük, hogy az elefánttrágyán élő guild nagy hányada át tud váltani marhatrágyára, legalábbis ami a legfajgazdagabb család a Sphaeroceridae fajait illeti | 10700 collection specimens of 80 dipterous families were added to the collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. The revision of the ecologically most important lesser dung fly genus, Coproica Rondani was made with the description of 12 new species. The most important work is the revision of the genera of the Old World Limosininae (Sphaeroceridae) with 25 new genera. I described the eggs, second and third instar larvae of the first known Afrotropical Aulacigastridae fly, Aulacigaster africana Barraclough, eight new species of Diplochasma (Sauteromyia) (Lauxaniidae), the smallest macrocerine fly (Micromacrocera stenobasis, new genus and species) as well as five new species of Chaetopodella, a significant dung inhabiting genus. In the papers published hitherto 26 new genera, four new subgenera and 59 new species have been described. I studied, whether the potential loss of African Elephants would necessarily cause the co-extinction of the species-rich assemblages currently living on elephant dung. In semi-quantitative samples total of 60 species representing four families (Hybotidae, Sepsidae, Sphaeroceridae, Muscidae) have been collected. Species composition of the fly assemblages on elephant vs. cattle dung overlap considerably. Thus it seems safe to presume that a large proportion of the dipterous guild inhabiting elephant dung can shift to cow pats, at least as far as the most species-rich group (Sphaeroceridae) is concerned

A morphological and molecular description of a new Teleopsis species (Diptera: Diopsidae) from Thailand

A new species of Teleopsis (Diptera, Diopsidae) from Chiang Mai, Thailand is described and illustrated. Teleopsis thaii Földvári & Carr is shown to be a member of a species group, termed the dalmanni species group, along with three previously described species. Presented here are a morphological description of T. thaii and an allometric comparison of the species with other members of the Teleopsis genus. We also present multi-gene phylogenetic analyses to highlight the possible position of T. thaii within the dalmanni species group

Vertical transmission of Bartonella schoenbuchensis in Lipoptena cervi.

BACKGROUND Lipoptena cervi (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) is a hematophagous ectoparasite of cervids, which is considered to transmit pathogens between animals and occasionally to humans. The principal life stage that is able to parasitize new hosts is a winged ked that just emerged from a pupa. To facilitate efficient transmission of pathogens between hosts, vertical transmission from female deer keds to their offspring is necessary. We investigated vertical transmission of several vector-borne pathogens associated with cervids. METHODS Deer keds from several locations in Hungary were collected between 2009 and 2012. All life stages were represented: winged free-ranging adults, wingless adults collected from Capreolus capreolus and Cervus elaphus, developing larvae dissected from gravid females, and fully developed pupae. The presence of zoonotic pathogens was determined using qPCR or conventional PCR assays performed on DNA lysates. From the PCR-positive lysates, a gene fragment was amplified and sequenced for confirmation of pathogen presence, and/or pathogen species identification. RESULTS DNA of Bartonella schoenbuchensis was found in wingless males (2%) and females (2%) obtained from Cervus elaphus, dissected developing larvae (71%), and free-ranging winged males (2%) and females (11%). DNA of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia species was present in L. cervi adults, but not in immature stages. DNA of Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis was absent in any of the life stages of L. cervi. CONCLUSIONS B. schoenbuchensis is transmitted from wingless adult females to developing larvae, making it very likely that L. cervi is a vector for B. schoenbuchensis. Lipoptena cervi is probably not a vector for A. phagocytophilum, Rickettsia species, and Candidatus N. mikurensis

Host phylogeny, geographic overlap, and roost sharing shape parasite communities in European bats

How multitrophic relationships between wildlife communities and their ectoparasitic vectors interact to shape the diversity of vector-borne microorganisms is poorly understood. Nested levels of dependence among microbes, vectors, and vertebrate hosts may have complicated effects on both microbial community assembly and evolution. We examined Bartonella sequences from European bats and their ectoparasites with a combination of network analysis, Bayesian phylogenetics, tip-association and cophylogeny tests, and linear regression to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape parasite communities. We detected seven bat-ectoparasite-Bartonella communities that can be differentiated based on bat families and roosting patterns. Tips of the Bartonella tree were significantly clustered by host taxonomy and geography. We also found significant evidence of evolutionary congruence between bat host and Bartonella phylogenies, indicating that bacterial species have evolved to infect related bat species. Exploring these ecological and evolutionary associations further, we found that sharing of Bartonella species among bat hosts was strongly associated with host phylogenetic distance and roost sharing and less strongly with geographic range overlap. Ectoparasite sharing between hosts was strongly predicted by host phylogenetic distance, roost sharing, and geographic overlap but had no additive effect on Bartonella sharing. Finally, historical Bartonella host-switching was more frequent for closely related bats after accounting for sampling bias among bat species. This study helps to disentangle the complex ecology and evolution of Bartonella bacteria in bat species and their arthropod vectors. Our work provides insight into the important mechanisms that partition parasite communities among hosts, particularly the effect of host phylogeny and roost sharing, and could help to elucidate the evolutionary patterns of other diverse vector-borne microorganisms

Host phylogeny, geographic overlap, and roost sharing shape parasite communities in European bats

How multitrophic relationships between wildlife communities and their ectoparasitic vectors interact to shape the diversity of vector-borne microorganisms is poorly understood. Nested levels of dependence among microbes, vectors, and vertebrate hosts may have complicated effects on both microbial community assembly and evolution. We examined Bartonella sequences from European bats and their ectoparasites with a combination of network analysis, Bayesian phylogenetics, tip-association and cophylogeny tests, and linear regression to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape parasite communities. We detected seven batectoparasite-Bartonella communities that can be differentiated based on bat families and roosting patterns. Tips of the Bartonella tree were significantly clustered by host taxonomy and geography. We also found significant evidence of evolutionary congruence between bat host and Bartonella phylogenies, indicating that bacterial species have evolved to infect related bat species. Exploring these ecological and evolutionary associations further, we found that sharing of Bartonella species among bat hosts was strongly associated with host phylogenetic distance and roost sharing and less strongly with geographic range overlap. Ectoparasite sharing between hosts was strongly predicted by host phylogenetic distance, roost sharing, and geographic overlap but had no additive effect on Bartonella sharing. Finally, historical Bartonella host-switching was more frequent for closely related bats after accounting for sampling bias among bat species. This study helps to disentangle the complex ecology and evolution of Bartonella bacteria in bat species and their arthropod vectors. Our work provides insight into the important mechanisms that partition parasite communities among hosts, particularly the effect of host phylogeny and roost sharing, and could help to elucidate the evolutionary patterns of other diverse vector-borne microorganisms