How to translate text using browser tools
1 January 2014 MORPHOLOGIC AND MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATIONS OF DIGENETIC TREMATODES IN DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS (PHALACROCORAX AURITUS) FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA, USA
Mary O'Hear, Linda Pote, Marlena Yost, Cynthia Doffitt, Tommy King, Carla Panuska
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Increasing numbers of Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the Mississippi River Delta, USA, have been observed over the past few decades. This piscivorous bird is a definitive host for numerous digenetic trematodes, some of which may cause pathology in a fish host. We conducted a 2-yr survey of intestinal trematodes in 35 Double-crested Cormorants collected in the Mississippi Delta. We counted gastrointestinal trematodes, identified them to species using morphometric and molecular techniques, and sequenced the 18S and cytochrome oxidase I (COI) genes. We collected 4,909 trematodes, representing five digenetic species: Drepanocephalus spathans, Hysteromorpha triloba, Pseudopsilostoma varium, Austrodiplostomum ostrowskiae, and Ascocotyle longa. The most prevalent trematode of the Double-crested Cormorants was D. spathans (91%), followed by H. triloba (78%), P. varium (74%), A. ostrowskiae (57%), and A. longa (29%). Among these, the life cycles are only known for H. triloba and A. longa. Novel DNA sequences of the COI gene were obtained for D. spathans, A. ostrowskiae, P. varium, and A. longa adults. Using these DNA sequences, the identification and confirmation of the larval stages of these parasites in the fish and snail hosts will be possible.

© 2014 Wildlife Disease Association
Mary O'Hear, Linda Pote, Marlena Yost, Cynthia Doffitt, Tommy King, and Carla Panuska "MORPHOLOGIC AND MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATIONS OF DIGENETIC TREMATODES IN DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS (PHALACROCORAX AURITUS) FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA, USA," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 50(1), 42-49, (1 January 2014). https://doi.org/10.7589/2012-10-249
Received: 7 October 2012; Accepted: 1 June 2013; Published: 1 January 2014
KEYWORDS
digenean
Double-crested Cormorant
Phalacrocorax auritus
trematode
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top