Literature references for mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases. 1989--Part 1.

Volume:

Could species-focused suppression of Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, and Aedes albopictus, the tiger mosquito, affect interacting predators? An evidence synthesis from the literature

The risks of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus nuisance and vector-borne diseases are rising and the adverse effects of broad-spectrum insecticide application have promoted species-specific techniques, such as sterile insect technique (SIT) and other genetic strategies, as contenders in their control operations. When specific vector suppression is proposed, potential effects on predators and wider ecosystem are some of the first stakeholder questions. These are not the only Aedes vectors of human diseases, but are those for which SIT and genetic strategies are of most interest. They vary ecologically and in habitat origin, but both have behaviorally human-adapted forms with expanding ranges. The aquatic life stages are where predation is strongest due to greater resource predictability and limited escape opportunity. These vectors' anthropic forms usually use ephemeral water bodies and man-made containers as larval habitats; predators that occur in these are mobile, opportunistic and generalist. No literature indicates that any predator depends on larvae of either species. As adults, foraging theory predicts these mosquitoes are of low profitability to predators. Energy expended hunting and consuming will mostly outweigh their energetic benefit. Moreover, as adult biomass is mobile and largely disaggregated, any predator is likely to be a generalist and opportunist. This work, which summarizes much of the literature currently available on the predators of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus, indicates it is highly unlikely that any predator species depends on them. Species-specific vector control to reduce nuisance and disease is thus likely to be of negligible or limited impact on nontarget predators. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry

Parasite threats from the ornamental fish trade

The ornamental fish trade is an important commodity sector that involves the capture or farming of fish species for their aesthetic value. Since the 1960s, technological advances have enabled multiple countries to trade numerous ornamental fish species globally. As such, the ornamental fish trade is a pathway for the introduction of exotic fish species and their associated parasites and pathogens into endemic environments, with the potential for detrimental effects on biodiversity, ecosystems, industries, and their dependent local communities. Governments can establish quarantine measures to detect, prevent and mitigate the risks of introducing exotic parasites and pathogens. For example, Australia has established import requirements for ornamental fish species based on risk assessments undertaken by the Australian government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR). However, Australian risk assessments largely focus on parasites and pathogens of global significance in food fish production (i.e., salmonids and prawns). As such, established biosecurity requirements for the import of ornamental fish to Australia (DAWR 2018), focus on pathogenic bacteria (e.g., Aeromonas salmonicida (Lehmann and Neumann, 1896)) and viruses (e.g., spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV)) known to impact aquaculture, while a much broader parasite fauna of ornamental fishes remains to be assessed. The aim of this thesis was to address three specific gaps of knowledge of the ornamental trade. First, I examined limitations in data collation of t ornamental fish imported to Australia (Chapter 2). Second, I examined the diversity of parasite fauna infecting traded marine and freshwater ornamental fish species (Chapter 3 and 4), and; third, I evaluated the validity of cutting-edge molecular methods to detect parasites infecting imported ornamental fishes at border control (Chapters 5 and 6). Accurate data that describes the supply and demand of the global ornamental trade is essential for the development of comprehensive biosecurity protocols to protect endemic ecosystems and natural resources from introduced pathogens and parasites. To quantify the species diversity and volume of ornamental fishes imported to Australia, I examined publicly available data of aquarium fish imports to Australia between 2010-2016, collated and curated by DAWR (Chapter 2). I found that DAWR provides publicly available records of imported ornamental fish species ascribed to categories that offered limited resolution regarding the specific species identity. Taxonomically sound evaluation of Australian aquarium imports would be useful to understand the importance of the Australian aquarium trade in the translocation of potentially hazardous parasites and pathogens, and aid international conservation policies. Following, I surveyed freshwater and marine ornamental fish populations imported from Asia (i.e., Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka) to Australia for the presence of protozoan (Chapter 3) and metazoan parasites (Chapter 4). Fish were received following veterinary certification by exporting countries declaring no clinical signs of pests or diseases, and visual inspection by Australian Quarantine Services. Fish necropsies revealed a diverse array of parasite species, including 18 putative types of myxozoans (e.g. Ceratomyxa, Kudoa and Myxobolus spp.), and 14 parasitic monogenean species (e.g. Dactylogyrus, Gyrodactylus, Urocleidoides, and Trianchoratus spp.). One of the major findings was that goldfish, Carassius auratus Linnaeus, 1758, which are the most frequently traded freshwater fish species world-wide, exhibited high parasite diversity (Chapter 3 and 4). Subsequently, I conducted an exhaustive review of the history of the goldfish trade and parasite richness to provide insight into how the international trade of this species may have facilitated parasite co-introduction and co-invasion (Chapter 5). I found that more than 113 parasite species infect goldfish in their native range, of which 26 species were likely co-introduced with the international trade of goldfish (or other cyprinids). These included harmful, generalist parasite species in freshwater aquaculture fishes such as Ichthyophthirius multifiliis Fouquet, 1876, Lernaea cyprinacea Linnaeus, 1758, and Schyzocotyle acheilognathi (Yamaguti, 1934). It is concluded that the goldfish trade likely continues to facilitate the introduction and invasion of exotic parasites on a global scale. It is clear that pre-export health requirements for the importation of ornamental fish species into Australia are not being met (Chapters 3-5), and that cryptic parasites are not detected during visual inspections at border control. Thus, inspection prior to exportation and at border control must account for the highly cryptic nature of parasites and pathogens and consider alternatives to current pre-export conditions and visual inspections at border control. For this reason, I proposed screening fish transport water for the presence of parasite environmental DNA (eDNA) as a detection method for enhanced biosecurity (Chapter 6). I examined water samples from 11 target populations (cyprinids susceptible to Dactylogyrus spp. infections) and seven non-target fish populations (non-cyprinids, not susceptible to Dactylogyrus spp. infections) imported from southeast Asia to Australia for the presence of eDNA from five Dactylogyrus species (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) using novel species-specific quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays. Dactylogyrus spp. eDNA was detected in all targeted fish populations, showing that eDNA presents a considerable advantage over visual inspections and parasitological necropsies. However, Dactylogyrus spp. eDNA was also detected in water from non-cyprinid fish populations that are not susceptible to and were not infected by Dactylogyrus parasites, highlighting the risk of false positive detections associated with contaminated water sources used to transport ornamental fish species. Environmental DNA screening for parasite DNA offers a highly sensitive and non-invasive detection tool during pre-export monitoring of ornamental species and could aid quarantine officers to triage high-risk ornamental fish exports based on eDNA detection of parasite DNA in the exporting country. Nonetheless, quarantine officers should be vigilant in the limitations posed by contaminated water sources if eDNA screening methods are used at border control. Parasite eDNA detection in water samples from non-cyprinid fish populations in Chapter 5 suggested the possibility of false positive detections by eDNA screening. For this reason, I tested the reliability of eDNA screening methods by qPCR for biosecurity purposes in an experimental system simulating the export process (Chapter 7). Experimentally infected live fish (i.e., the monogenean Neobenedenia girellae (Hargis, 1955) infecting Lates calcarifer (Bloch, 1790)) were used to detect parasite eDNA in water samples, simulating the export process from packaging to delivery over a 48 h period. The consignments included 'infected fish', 'treated fish', and 'contaminated water' (containing dead parasites) delivered by 'exporting companies'. Quantitative PCR tests were inaccurate when detecting eDNA collected from low parasite intensities (mean intensity ± S.D. = 6.80 ± 4.78 parasites/fish). Quantitative PCR tests detected parasite eDNA in 50% of infected fish indicating a high plausibility of false negative detections because of low eDNA concentrations in water samples. Furthermore, parasite eDNA was detected in70% of non-infected fish in contaminated water samples, indicating the possibility of false positive detection of DNA from dead parasites present in the water. Environmental DNA screening methods, while more sensitive than current biosecurity protocols, are limited for accurate and reliable use where differentiation between live parasite infections and dead, non-viable parasites in the water is paramount. This thesis highlights the limitations of the DAWR current data collation framework to accurately examine aquarium fish import data and determined that a large diversity of protozoan and metazoan parasites are not detected at border control. Import conditions for ornamental species are not being met by exporting companies. While eDNA screening methods offer a potential tool for the detection of cryptic pathogens, the limitations of this technique need to be considered for development as a detection tool to demonstrate freedom from parasite infection in the ornamental fish trade

Hotspots of Subterranean Biodiversity

There are a total of 22 caves and karst wells with more than 25 specialized species resident (stygobionts and troglobionts). In this Special Issue, 14 of these sites are described in detail, along with the specialized fauna. An additional paper describes the richest known cave in China. A summary paper puts all 22 subterranean biodiversity sites in context

Carp genetic resources for aquaculture in Asia

There are over 1 300 species of cyprinids in Asia, which form an important part of the worldÆs aquatic biodiversity. Aquaculture and capture fisheries involving cyprinids are a vital part of the livelihoods of many millions of people in this region. The production of carps from aquaculture in Asia constitutes over half of world finfish aquaculture production. Further growth in human populations will increase the demand for carps as food, but may also threaten wild populations. This publication focuses on carp genetic resources for aquaculture in major carp producing countries of Asia viz., Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, describing the species of importance, our current knowledge of the genetics of these species and genetic improvement of these species for aquaculture.Carp, Fish culture, Aquaculture, Genetic resources, Fishery resources, Asia,

Systematics and Diversity of Annelids

In this Special Issue, we address the state of the art of the systematics of the main annelid groups and the improvements in the diversity they hold, with special emphasis on the latest discoveries in well-studied areas, expeditions to unsurveyed areas or environments, or the use of novel techniques that allow for the improvement of biodiversity knowledge. We are hoping that this Special Issue will provide a platform facilitating a review of current knowledge on the subject, identifying current research problems, as well as indicating directions and research trends for the future

Hydrology-Shaped Plant Communities

Aquatic ecosystems and the water they hold have attracted people over the centuries. With the technological development and increasing needs of human society, the attitude to water and aquatic ecosystems has changed. Consequently, biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems has declined dramatically and it is still decreasing. Anthropogenic exploitation of these ecosystems and alterations of their hydrology has largely influenced hydrology-shaped plant communities. This Special Issue, “Hydrology-Shaped Plant Communities: Diversity and Ecological Function” brings new outcomes about the interactions between hydrological factors and wide spectrum of plant communities. In ecosystems, where human activities directly or indirectly affected the hydrological factors, dependent plant communities have also changed or even disappeared. These plant communities have multiple ecological functions, and one of the most important are the maintenance of water quality and enhancement of local and regional diversity of other biotic communities like diatoms, invertebrates or fish. Thus, detailed knowledge and suitable management of hydrology-shaped plant communities is a prerequisite for their unconstrained ecological functions and high diversity of aquatic ecosystems in the widest sense. The Special Issue consists of ten peer-reviewed papers on plant communities in a variety of ecosystems - from the small kettle-holes in the lowlands of northern Germany to the river Danube - the largest river within the European Union, and from different wetland types in Central Europe to the Donggting Lake – fourth largest lake in China

Marine Nitrogen Fixation and Phytoplankton Ecology

Many oceans are currently undergoing rapid changes in environmental conditions such as warming temperature, acidic water condition, coastal hypoxia, etc. These changes could lead to dramatic changes in the biology and ecology of phytoplankton and consequently impact the entire marine ecosystems and global biogeochemical cycles. Marine phytoplankton can be an important indicator for the changes in marine environments and ecosystems since they are major primary producers that consolidate solar energy into various organic matter transferred to marine ecosystems throughout the food-webs. Similarly, the N2 fixers (diazotrophs) are also vulnerable to changing environmental conditions. It has been found that the polar regions can be introduced to diazotrophic activity under warming conditions and the increased N availability can lead to elevated primary productivity. Considering the fundamental roles of phytoplankton in marine ecosystems and global biogeochemical cycles, it is important to understand phytoplankton ecology and N2 fixation as a potential N source in various oceans. This Special Issue provides ecological and biogeochemical baselines in a wide range of geographic study regions for the changes in marine environments and ecosystems driven by global climate changes

Molecular Phylogenetics and Mitochondrial Evolution

The aim of the present Special Issue is to address the state-of-art of mitochondrial genomics and phylogenomics. Mitochondrial markers are widespread in phylogenetics; however, it is becoming increasingly clear that (i) many discordance issues arise with respect to nuclear markers and (ii) many features that are normally considered 'typical' for the mitochondrial genome are indeed highly unstable and unconserved