First study of fossil rodent middens as source of paleoparasitological evidences (northwestern Patagonia, Argentina)

The present paper reports the first paleoparasitological results obtained fromcoprolites of fossil rodent middens and demonstrates the potential of rodent middens as a source of paleoparasitological evidences in South America. Ten fossil rodent middens from northwestern Patagonia, Argentina, were studied. Five coprolites of each midden were fully processed, rehydrated, homogenized, subjected to spontaneous sedimentation, and examined through light microscopy. Eight of the 10 examined rodent middens contained parasite eggs. The eggs of parasites were assigned to Heteroxynema (Cavioxyura) viscaciae Sutton & Hugot, 1989 and Helminthoxys sp. (Nematoda: Oxyuridae), Trichuris sp. (Nematoda: Trichuridae) and one unidentified nematode. Fossil rodent middens were assigned to Lagidium viscacia (Caviomorph: Chinchillidae). The excellent preservation of parasite remains in coprolites from fossil rodent middens provided an opportunity to perform paleoparasitological inferences. The results of this papers demonstrates that fossil rodent middens offer an excellent opportunity for the recovery of parasite remains for future paleoparasitological studies in the southwest of South AmericaFil: Beltrame, Maria Ornela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; ArgentinaFil: de Porras, Maria Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de La Serena; ChileFil: Barberena, Ramiro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Llano, Carina Lourdes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; Argentin

Anisakids survival after microwaving, freezing and salting fish from Argentina

Some studies support the effectiveness in controlling nematodes in fishes for human consumption by freezing at -20̈C and by cooking at 74̈C by microwave process. The aim of this work was to analyse the effect of different treatments over anisakids from Argentinean fishes. The known anisakids in fishes from Argentina belong to genera Hysterothylacium, Terranova, Anisakis, Contracaecum and Pseudoterranova, being the three latest recognised as pathogens for human. Living larvae of anisakids obtained from fishes were used for survival assessment. Some parasites were kept in NaCI (0.85%) at 4-5.5°C until death. Anisakis, Terranova, Pseudoterranova, Contracaecum and Hysterothylacium survived during 330, 75, 75, 210 and 90 days, respectively. For freezing, microwaving and salting treatments, infected fillets were exposed at-20̈C until 24 hours, 1 minute at 64.05̈C and 75.56̈C and to salt during 24 hours, respectively. No surviving anisakids were observed neither after freezing nor salting. Anisakis sp. survived at 64.05̈C.Fil: Lanfranchi, Ana Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Parasitología; Argentin

Effectiveness of coproscopic concentration techniques

The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of the concentration techniques of flotation-centrifugation with zinc chloride (FZn) (δ = 1.45) with the spontaneous sedimentation (SSed) and the sucrose flotation-centrifugation (FSuc) (δ = 1.2) to recuperate gastrointestinal parasites from camelid fecal samples. The technique with more positive results for the detection of Nematodirus sp., Trichuris sp., strongyle-type eggs and Eimeria macusaniensis oocysts was the FZn. For Trichuris sp. and Eimeria macusaniensis, the higher coverglass counts were detected by FZn procedure. No significant differences were registered among centrifugation flotation techniques for Nematodirus spp. Coverglass count for strongyle-type eggs was significantly higher for FSuc than FZn (p = 0.0005) or SSed (p = 0.0005), being also significantly higher for FZn than for SSed (p = 0.008). FZn is a sensitive technique that allows the recovery of parasite elements with high density and it exerts low osmotic pressure avoiding parasite deformation.Fil: Taglioretti, Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Fugassa, Martín Horacio. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentin

Parasitic diversity found in coprolites of camelids during the Holocene

Knowledge of parasitic infections to which fauna was exposed in the past provides information on the geographical origin of some parasites, on the possible dispersal routes and for archaeological fauna on the potential zoonotic risk that human and animal populations could be exposed. The aim of the present study was to examine the gastrointestinal parasite present in camelid coprolites collected from the archaeological site Cerro Casa de Piedra, cave 7 (CCP7), Patagonia, Argentina. Coprolites were collected from different stratified sequences dating from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition to the late Holocene. Paleoparasitological examination revealed the presence of eggs of Trichostrongylidae attributed to Lamanema chavezi or Nematodirus lamae, eggs of three unidentified capillariids, Strongylus-type eggs and oocysts of Eimeria macusaniensis. These parasites affected camelids living in the studied area since the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, about 10,000 years ago. Gastrointestinal parasite fauna of patagonian camelids did not vary significatively from Pleistocene-Holocene transition to late Holocene, although environmental conditions fluctuated greatly throughout this period, as indicative of the strength and the stability of these associations over time. In this study, the zoonotic and biogeography importance of parasites of camelids are also discussed.Fil: Taglioretti, Verónica. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fugassa, Martín Horacio. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Morphometric analysis of modern faeces as a tool to identify artiodactyls' coprolites

The identification of the zoological origin of coprolites is important to infer paleoecological characteristics of ancient wildlife. The aim of this study was to design a reliable tool to distinguish coprolites of artiodactyls collected from archaeological sites of Patagonia, Argentina. A reference collection of modern droppings of large size artiodactyls of Patagonia, Lama guanicoe (guanaco) and Hippocamelus bisulcus (huemul), was also studied. Generalized discriminant analysis using shape and size attributes was applied to 538 pellets (nguanaco = 240, nhuemul = 298). Faecal material was photographed and multiple predictor variables were calculated by the Image J (Java 1.6.0_12) Program. Coprolites attributable to camelids by paleoparasitological analyses were also classified by the discriminant classification function obtained from the reference collection. Results indicated that pellet size and shape were able to discriminate droppings of guanaco from those of huemul (Pillai's trace = 0.93, p = 0.0001). The accuracy of the classification function was 100%, with all the modern faeces of guanaco and huemul correctly classified. The accuracy for the identification of camelid coprolites was 100%. This is the first study that used a discriminant classification function of modern dung to identify coprolites. This research also provides information for its potential application to other archaeological deposits of dung in order to confirm the zoological origin of samples.Fil: Taglioretti, Verónica. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Fugassa, Martín Horacio. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentin

Reptile and rodent parasites in raptor pellets in an archaeological context: The case of epullán chica (northwestern Patagonia, Argentina)

Paleoparasitology is the study of parasite remains from archaeological and paleontological sites. Raptor pellets can be used as source for paleoparasitological information in archaeological sites. However, this zooarchaeological material has been scarcely studied. Epullán Chica (ECh) is an archaeological site in northwestern Patagonia. This cave yielded remains from more than 2000 years before present. The aim of this paper was to study the parasite remains found in owl pellets from the archaeological site ECh, and to discuss the paleoparasitological findings in an archaeological context. Twenty two raptor pellets were examined for parasites. The pellets were whole processed by rehydration in a 0.5% water solution of trisodium phosphate, followed by homogenization, filtered and processed by spontaneous sedimentation. Eight out of 22 bird pellets examined were positive for parasites from reptiles and rodents. Representatives of 12 parasite taxa were recorded; nine of this parasitic species were reported for the first time from ancient samples from Patagonia. This is the first time that pellets give evidences of ancient reptile parasites from archaeological contexts. It is noteworthy that Late Holocene hunter-gatherers of the upper Limay River basin, could have been exposed to some of these zoonotic parasites. Future paleoparasitological studies on owl pellets may reflect even more the parasitological diversity of all micromammal and reptile species presents in ancient times.Fil: Beltrame, Maria Ornela. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Fernando Julián. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Cienicas Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

First paleoparasitological record of acanthocephalan eggs from Northwestern Patagonia (Late Holocene, Argentina)

Eggs representative of an acanthocephalan were found in an ancient fragment of raptor pellet, probably belonged to the barn owl, Tyto alba, from the archeological site named "Epullán Chica cave".  This site isa cave located at the southern of Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina. The fragment of pellet wasfound in a layer with charcoals dated at 1980 ± 80 years B.P. A total of 56 eggs were found. Eggs werebrown colored and thick-shelled, and presented four membranes, the outer lightly sculpted. The embryos presented hooks in one extremity. Measurements ranged from 87.5 to 107.5 m long and 50 to 57.5 mwide. Eggs were very well-preserved, and were identified as belonged to Class Archiacanthocephala,Order Oligacanthorhynchida, Family Oligacanthorhynchidae, probably Macracanthorhynchus Travassos,1917, or an unidentified species. This is the first report of small mammal acanthocephalans from ancient material worldwide.Fil: Beltrame, Maria Ornela. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Fernando Julián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; Argentin

Ancient parasites from endemic deer from “CUEVA PARQUE DIANA” archeological site, Patagonia, Argentina

The narrow Andean-Patagonian temperate rainforest strip in the west of southern South America is inhabited by two endemic species of cervids, the southern pudu (Pudu puda) and the huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), both cataloged as near threatened and threatened species, respectively. One of the possible causes of their declined number is the susceptibility to livestock diseases. Significant zooarchaeological records of both deer have been found throughout the Holocene from Patagonia. The present contribution reports the first paleoparasitological results obtained from coprolites of endemic deer from the archeological site “Cueva Parque Diana,” Neuquén Province, Argentina, and discusses the possible diseases found in ancient times. Thirty-four coprolites were fully processed, rehydrated, homogenized, sieved, subjected to spontaneous sedimentation, and examined by light microscopy. Thirty samples contained parasite remains. The presence of diverse parasitic diseases such as trematodioses, metastrongylosis, trichuriosis, strongylida gastroenteritis, dioctophymosis, and coccidiosis which could cause diseases in deer previous to the arrival of European livestock and the presence of zoonotic diseases in the hunters-gatherers and fishermen are discussed.Fil: Beltrame, Maria Ornela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; ArgentinaFil: Tietze, Eleonor. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; Argentina. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, Alberto Enrique. Universidad Católica de Temuco; ChileFil: Bellusci, Agustin. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; ArgentinaFil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; Argentin

biometric identification of capilariid eggs from archaeological sites in Patagonia

Numerous eggs of capillariid nematodes have been found in coprolites from a wide range of hosts and in raptor pellets in archaeological samples from Patagonia. The structure and sculpture of the eggshell of these nematodes and their biometry are commonly used for identification. The aim of this study was to determine whether eggs of the genus Calodium with similar morphology, found in different archaeological samples from Patagonia, belong to the same species. For this purpose, capillariid eggs (N ¼ 843) with thick walls and radial striations were studied by permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA). Eggs exhibiting similar shape and structure also showed similar biometry, regardless of the zoological origin of coprolites (P ¼ 0.84), host diet (P ¼ 0.19), character of the archaeological sites (P ¼ 0.67) and chronology (P ¼ 0.66). Thus, they were attributed to the same species. We suggest that an unidentified zoonotic species of the genus Calodium occurred in the digestive tract of a wide range of hosts in Patagonia during the Holocene and that both human and animal populations were exposed to this parasite during the Holocene in the study area.Fil: Taglioretti, Verónica. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fugassa, Martín Horacio. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Beltrame, Maria Ornela. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Carnivores as zoonotic parasite reservoirs in ancient times: the case of the Epullán Chica archaeological cave (Late Holocene, northwestern Patagonia, Argentina)

Zoonoses are currently considered as one of the most important threats for Public Health worldwide. Numerous zoonoses known today have occurred since antiquity. Carnivores act as definitive hosts for many intestinal parasites; some of them are responsible for several zoonotic diseases. The aim of this work was to study the parasite remains found in coprolites assigned to carnivores from the archaeological site Epullán Chica (ECh) and to discuss the results from a zoonotic point of view. ECh is located in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina and was occupied since the end of the Late Holocene (∼2200 years B.P.). Nine coprolites were examined for parasites. Samples were processed by rehydration in a 0.5 % water solution of trissodium phosphate, followed by homogenization, filtered and processed by spontaneous sedimentation. The macroscopic remains were separated and dried at room temperature and were examined for diet analysis. Six out of 9 coprolites examined were positive for parasites. Representatives of at least 10 parasite taxa were registered. Results are in line with the reconstruction of the scenario of zoonoses in the past and the diseases that the human populations and animals from Patagonia could be exposed. The present study provides the first palaeoparasitological report of carnivore coprolites recovered from the archaeological site Ech and reflects contamination of the cave used by hunter-gatherers with different parasites causative of zoonotic diseases.Fil: Beltrame, Maria Ornela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; ArgentinaFil: Bellusci, Agustín. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Fernando Julián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Cienicas Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada; ArgentinaFil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; Argentin