Epidemiology of \u3ci\u3eToxoplasma gondii\u3c/i\u3e and a survey of other parasites in the West Indian manatee (\u3ci\u3eTrichechus manatus\u3c/i\u3e)

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite of felids reported to cause morbidity and mortality in the two subspecies of the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus): the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) in Puerto Rico and the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Sera or plasma (n=343) were collected from live-capture T. m. latirostris through the US Geological Survey (USGS) manatee health assessment program and serosanguinous fluid (n=10) were collected from necropsies conducted by the Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory (MMPL). Additionally, serum or serosanguinous fluid samples (n=5) were collected from rehabilitated or necropsied T. m. manatus at the Manatee Conservation Center (MCC) of Puerto Rico. Free-roaming cat (Felis catus) serum samples (n=25) from Puerto Rico were collected for T. gondii testing. All serum, plasma, and serosanguinous fluid samples (n=383) were screened using the Modified Agglutination Test (MAT) to determine T. gondii seroprevalence in manatee and cat. All manatee samples tested on the MAT were seronegative for T. gondii except for one Antillean manatee which was inconclusive. Nested PCR on the blood clot of this animal was negative. Seroprevalence of T. gondii in cat sera was 16%. Fecal samples (n=79) from free-roaming cats in Florida were collected to determine the shedding prevalence of T. gondii oocysts. No oocysts consistent with T. gondii morphology were detected in any felid samples. This is the first attempt to connect T. gondii genotypes in manatees to the hypothesized contamination source, feral cat populations. To determine manatee habitat contamination, 33 seagrass samples (Thalassia testudinum, Syringodium filiforme, and Halodule wrightii) from 19 sites on the main island of Puerto Rico were collected for concentration and PCR detection of T. gondii oocysts. No T. gondii oocysts were detected in any of the seagrass samples. Freshly defecated fecal samples (n=24) were also collected from T. m. latirostris (n=21) and T. m. manatus (n=3) for parasite surveillance. Parasite ova found included: 2 Chiorchis spp., Pulmonicola cochleotrema, Moniligerum blairi, Nudacotyle undicola, 2 Eimeria spp., Heterocheilus tunicatus, and several unidentified eggs, cysts, and larvae. To the author’s knowledge, this is also the first report of Eimeria spp. in T. m. manatus from Puerto Rico

The impact of standards-based report cards on reading achievement in the third grade

School districts across the nation are transitioning away from traditional A-F letter grade report cards in favor of standards-based report cards (SBRC). Previous studies have indicated that many parents were confused by SBRC. The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference exists between the reading achievement of third-grade students using traditional A-F letter grade report cards and those students using SBRC. Pre-existing CRCT data of the pass/fail percentage of third graders from five school districts and 118 schools in 2009 and 2010, the year prior to and the year of implementation of SBRC, were analyzed. A chi square test indicated that no statistically significant difference existed between report card type and student reading achievement among third grade students. Districts may want to reconsider the time and expense involved in adopting a report card that so many parents find difficult to understand

Internal parasites of the two subspecies of the West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus

The West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus is divided into 2 subspecies: the Antillean (T. m. manatus) and Florida (T. m. latirostris) manatees. This study reports sample prevalence of manatee parasites from populations of these 2 subspecies in different geographical locations. Although necropsy is a valuable diagnostic tool for parasite infections, the need for antemortem diagnostic techniques is important. Fecal samples collected during necropsies of Antillean manatees (n = 3) in Puerto Rico and Florida manatees (n = 10) in Crystal River, Florida, as well as from live-captured Florida manatees (n = 11) were evaluated using centrifugal flotation with sucrose and ethyl acetate sedimentation to compare parasites from each of the populations. Although both fecal examination methods provided similar results, the centrifugal flotation method required less time for diagnosis. The most common parasite eggs found in both populations included the trematodes Pulmonicola cochleotrema and Nudacotyle undicola, oocysts of the coccidian Eimeria spp., and eggs of the ascarid Heterocheilus tunicatus. Eggs of the trematode Chiorchis groschafti were found in both populations of manatees; however, eggs of a related species, Chiorchis fabaceus, were abundant in the Florida samples, but not found in Puerto Rico popu lations. Trematode eggs of Moniligerum blairi were found in both populations, but were more common in the Florida manatee (42%) than the Antillean manatee (33%). To our knowledge, this is the first report of both Eimeria manatus and Eimeria nodulosa oocysts in Antillean manatees from Puerto Rico

Results from the worldwide coma morphology campaign for comet ISON (C/2012 S1)

We present the results of a global coma morphology campaign for comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which was organized to involve both professional and amateur observers. In response to the campaign, many hundreds of images, from nearly two dozen groups were collected. Images were taken primarily in the continuum, which help to characterize the behavior of dust in the coma of comet ISON. The campaign received images from January 12 through November 22, 2013 (an interval over which the heliocentric distance decreased from 5.1 AU to 0.35 AU), allowing monitoring of the long-term evolution of coma morphology during comet ISON׳s pre-perihelion leg. Data were contributed by observers spread around the world, resulting in particularly good temporal coverage during November when comet ISON was brightest but its visibility was limited from any one location due to the small solar elongation. We analyze the northwestern sunward continuum coma feature observed in comet ISON during the first half of 2013, finding that it was likely present from at least February through May and did not show variations on diurnal time scales. From these images we constrain the grain velocities to ~10 m s−1, and we find that the grains spent 2–4 weeks in the sunward side prior to merging with the dust tail. We present a rationale for the lack of continuum coma features from September until mid-November 2013, determining that if the feature from the first half of 2013 was present, it was likely too small to be clearly detected. We also analyze the continuum coma morphology observed subsequent to the November 12 outburst, and constrain the first appearance of new features in the continuum to later than November 13.99 UT

Rapid Discovery and Detection of Haemaphysalis longicornis through the Use of Passive Surveillance and Collaboration: Building a State Tick-Surveillance Network

Between March 2019 and February 2020, Asian long-horned ticks (Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, 1901) were discovered and collected for the first time in one middle and seven eastern Tennessee counties, facilitated by a newly developed passive and collaborative tick-surveillance network. Network collaborators included federal, state, county, university, and private resource personnel working with companion animals, livestock, and wildlife. Specimens were collected primarily from dogs and cattle, with initial detections of female adult stage ticks by stakeholders associated with parasitology positions (e.g., entomologists and veterinary parasitologists). Initial county tick detections were confirmed with morphological and molecular identifications, and then screened for the presence of animal-associated pathogens (Anaplasma marginale, Babesia species, Ehrlichia species, and Theileria orientalis), for which all tests were negative. Herein, we describe the identification and confirmation of these tick specimens as well as other results of the surveillance collaboration