Midges not only sucks, but may carry lethal pathogens to wild amphibians

Toledo, Luı́s Felipe; Ruggeri, Joice; Campos, Leonardo Leite Ferraz de; Martins, Marcio Roberto; Neckel‐Oliveira, Selvino; Breviglieri, Crasso Paulo Bosco

doi:10.1111/btp.12928

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The stage of life in which individuals are most often infected might be the first breeding period of an individual and the infection may remain for life, like in Notophthalmus viridescens [78]. Potential vectors of hemoparasites are leeches and hematophagous dipterans [79][80][81]. Mosquitoes (Uranotaenia spp.)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hemoparasites Do Not Affect Life-History Traits and Cellular Immune Response in Treefrog Hosts Boana cordobae

Pollo,

Salinas,

Baraquet

et al. 2023

Animals

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We provide the first evidence for hemoparasites in the endemic Cordoba treefrog Boana cordobae. We collected 37 adult frogs at 1200 m a.s.l. in the Comechingones Mountains in the Córdoba province (Argentina). Each individual was sexed, then snout–vent length and body mass were recorded, a toe was collected for skeletochronological age determination, and a slide with a blood smear was prepared for hemoparasite screening, before releasing the frogs in situ. A total of 81% (n = 30) of the frogs were infected by hemogregarines and trypanosomes with a high intensity of infections. Dactylosoma was found for the first time in Argentina. Hemoparasites had no significant effect on the leukocyte profile, which we assessed from the May–Grünwald–Giemsa-stained blood smears. The neutrophils/lymphocytes ratio, indicative of stress, was insignificantly higher (0.06) in parasitized frogs than in parasite-free individuals (0.04). Infected frogs were larger than the controls, but this effect vanished when correcting size data for age. Young frogs (first-breeders) dominated the age distribution of parasite-free individuals, suggesting that infection of frogs takes usually place after sexual maturation. Vectors transmitting hemoparasites to B. cordobae remain to be identified. We demonstrate that moderate to high intensities of hemoparasites do not significantly affect the cellular immune response of B. cordobae, or any of the life-history traits studied, nor did they show any external sign of disease.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hemoparasites Do Not Affect Life-History Traits and Cellular Immune Response in Treefrog Hosts Boana cordobae

Pollo,

Salinas,

Baraquet

et al. 2023

Animals

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“…This includes Culex peccator, a carrier of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus [81], and Uranotaenia unguiculata, a vector of WNV [82]. Frog-biting midges are also suspected vectors of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis [83], a chytrid fungus implicated in anuran population declines worldwide [84]. Though examinations of vector-borne disease dynamics in anurans are still limited, they offer promising opportunities to broaden our understanding of disease transmission in mixed-species assemblages.…”

Section: Case Study: Mixed-species Frog Choruses and Eavesdropping Ve...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixed-species assemblages and disease: the importance of differential vector and parasite attraction in transmission dynamics

Trillo

Bernal

Hall

2023

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Individuals from multiple species often aggregate at resources, group to facilitate defense and foraging, or are brought together by human activity. While it is well-documented that host-seeking disease vectors and parasites show biases in their responses to cues from different hosts, the influence of mixed-species assemblages on disease dynamics has received limited attention. Here, we synthesize relevant research in host-specific vector and parasite bias. To better understand how vector and parasite biases influence infection, we provide a conceptual framework describing cue-oriented vector and parasite host-seeking behaviour as a two-stage process that encompasses attraction of these enemies to the assemblage and their choice of hosts once at the assemblage. We illustrate this framework, developing a case study of mixed-species frog assemblages, where frog-biting midges transmit trypanosomes. Finally, we present a mathematical model that investigates how host species composition and asymmetries in vector attraction modulate transmission dynamics in mixed-species assemblages. We argue that differential attraction of vectors by hosts can have important consequences for disease transmission within mixed-species assemblages, with implications for wildlife conservation and zoonotic disease. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Mixed-species groups and aggregations: shaping ecological and behavioural patterns and processes’.

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“…Studies of the monotypic family Corethrellidae (genus Corethrella Coquillett, 1902) in Brazil have been occasional but steadily increasing since Borkent's world revision of the group , with new publications and researchers in the fields of ecology and taxonomy Caldart et al 2016;Ambrozio-Assis et al 2018;Almeida et al 2021;Toledo et al 2021). These works have contributed significantly to our knowledge about the family.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1), the degree of host-specificity and the sensory cues used to locate frogs are still uncertain (Grafe et al 2018;Virgo et al 2021). Additionally important for frog ecology and conservation is that females are vectors of parasites, such as trypanosomes (Bernal & Pinto 2016) and possibly the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Longcore, Pessier & D.K.Nichols (Toledo et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Description of five new species of frog-biting midges (Diptera, Corethrellidae) from Brazil and examination of new morphological characters with utility for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies

Amaral

Mariano

Pinho

2023

EJT

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Family Corethrellidae has a worldwide distribution with most known extant species occurring in the Neotropics, many with only the adult stages described. Despite previous efforts, one remaining problem in the taxonomy of Corethrellidae is the challenge of delimiting species due to the current range of morphological characters included in descriptions to date. This paper discusses additional morphological evidence to distinguish species and their phylogenetic relationships. Together with fresh samples collected in Bahia, the only state in the Northeast Region with records of corethrellids, and slide-mounted specimens from other regions, five new species are described: Corethrella pindorama sp. nov., C. patasho sp. nov., C. fuscifimbria sp. nov. and C. unifasciata sp. nov. based on female adults; and C. bifida sp. nov. based on male and female adults, and larval and pupal exuviae. We also provide complementary descriptions comprising the novel characters for 33 previously described species, including the immature stages of nine. Fifteen species are newly recorded for Bahia and the Northeast Region, of which two are new records for Brazil. Additionally, we provide remarks about the biology of species, an updated list of species recorded in Brazil and an updated taxonomic key of New World species, modified from Borkent (2008).

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Midges not only sucks, but may carry lethal pathogens to wild amphibians

Cited by 12 publications

References 19 publications

Hemoparasites Do Not Affect Life-History Traits and Cellular Immune Response in Treefrog Hosts Boana cordobae

Hemoparasites Do Not Affect Life-History Traits and Cellular Immune Response in Treefrog Hosts Boana cordobae

Mixed-species assemblages and disease: the importance of differential vector and parasite attraction in transmission dynamics

Description of five new species of frog-biting midges (Diptera, Corethrellidae) from Brazil and examination of new morphological characters with utility for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies

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