Journal of Parasitology最新文献

{"title":"HELMINTH PARASITE COMMUNITY OF THE LIZARD GONATODES HUMERALIS (SQUAMATA: SPHAERODACTYLIDAE) IN THE AMAZON: STRUCTURE AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT AREAS.","authors":"Amanda L M Rosa, Saturno Dias, Fabiano Paschoal, Felipe B Pereira","doi":"10.1645/25-70","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1645/25-70","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gonatodes humeralis is a small gecko common in the Amazon, and little is known about its parasite community. The present work assessed for the first time in detail the parasite community of G. humeralis in 2 conservation areas of the municipality of São Luís, State of Maranhão, Brazil, and the factors associated with it. A total of 132 lizards were collected. We found only 3 parasite taxa: the nematode Skrjabinelazia galliardi in the stomach, the digenean Mesocoelium sp., and the cestode Oochoristica sp., both in the small intestine. Skrjabinelazia galliardi was the most dominant, prevalent, and abundant, followed by Oochoristica sp.; Mesocoelium sp. was rare, infecting only 2 female lizards from one of the collection sites. The parasite community was depauperate, noninteractive, and parasites were highly aggregated, which is typical of lizard hosts. Host body length was a strong factor shaping the parasite community, whereas sex, ontogeny, and collection site exerted a weak influence on it. Because all parasites are trophically transmitted, the host diet is likely an important indicator of parasite transmission in the present community. The local anthropic activities possibly influence the environmental quality, which may impact the existence of intermediate hosts for Mesocoelium sp. and its transmission. Gonatodes humeralis harbored only adult parasites, indicating that this species does not play a significant role as intermediate/paratenic host in the area but represents an important definitive host at least for S. galliardi and Oochoristica sp.</p>","PeriodicalId":16659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology","volume":"112 3","pages":"268-276"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147856597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"AN AUTOMATED CHEMILUMINESCENCE IMMUNOASSAY FOR DETECTION OF GIARDIA DUODENALIS ANTIGENS FROM CANINE SPECIMENS.","authors":"Xiaolin Li, Kenneth A Browne, Caixia Dong, Ziye Liu","doi":"10.1645/25-101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1645/25-101","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study reports the automation and evaluation of the Giardia chemiluminescence assay (GCA), an assay designed to detect infectious Giardia duodenalis present in veterinary stool samples. The automated GCA (auto-GCA) enabled stringent step pacing and significant reduction of hands-on time for the assay operator, and it yielded assay performance comparable with the manual assay in activity profiles, dose-dependent ranges and half-maximal effective concentrations. In a study with clinic-collected canine stool specimens, 115 samples analyzed by auto-GCA had a sensitivity of 95.1% and a specificity of 90.7% compared with a standard G. duodenalis ELISA. In another study, 81% of 62 canine samples that were identified as borderline by ELISA were classified definitively as positive or negative for G. duodenalis by auto-GCA. To our best knowledge, the auto-GCA is the first system in the parasite diagnosis area to use full automation and chemiluminescence, and it is expected to improve work quality for individual researchers and for laboratories.</p>","PeriodicalId":16659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology","volume":"112 3","pages":"261-267"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147856554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"MUSEUM SPECIMENS OF WESTERN DIAMOND-BACKED RATTLESNAKES (VIPERIDAE: CROTALUS ATROX) REVEAL TRENDS IN BODY SIZE, DIET, AND ENDOPARASITES OVER THE LAST 75 YEARS.","authors":"Irvin Arroyo-Torres, Sara V Brant, J Tomasz Giermakowski, Samantha Armijo, Lisa N Barrow","doi":"10.1645/24-85","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1645/24-85","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Climate projections for the Southwestern United States predict increases in temperature, drought intensity and frequency, and wildfire intensity and frequency. Such climatic change is expected to impact communities and species of the region, including Crotalus atrox (western diamond-backed rattlesnake) and its helminth communities. We hypothesized that C. atrox in New Mexico has experienced measurable changes in body size, diet composition, and helminth communities over the past century. We examined specimens of C. atrox from 3 time periods: 1947-1960 (1950s, n = 34), 1980-1990 (1980s, n = 53), and 2011-2021 (2010s, n = 57). We dissected specimens of C. atrox and recorded snout-vent length (SVL), sex, age class (juvenile or adult), prey items from gastrointestinal (GI) contents, and helminth prevalence. We then tested for differences in body size, diet, and helminth prevalence between sexes of C. atrox and across time periods. To better understand the environmental breadth of the helminths in C. atrox, we also performed a literature search to reconstruct in what coarse-scale habitat conditions the helminths identified in our study have previously been reported. Over the 3 time periods we studied, body size and diet composition have remained stable; however, helminth community composition appears to have shifted significantly. Kalicephalus inermis, Mesocestoides sp., and a nematode in the family Pharyngodonidae were recovered from snakes from the 1950s, followed by Hexametra boddaertii, Mesocestoides sp. and Oochoristica osheroffi from the 1980s. Finally, only O. osheroffi was recovered from snakes from the 2010s. We also found that O. osheroffi appears to tolerate areas that often lack reliable moisture levels. We suggest 3 hypotheses explaining the observed shift in helminth community composition: changes to climate, undetected changes in the diet of C. atrox, or other untested factors. Museum vouchers of both the hosts and the helminths recovered herein are available for verification, additional analyses or in-depth species reevaluations.</p>","PeriodicalId":16659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology","volume":"112 3","pages":"250-260"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147816671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"THE HIDDEN DIVERSITY OF THE ENIGMATIC ARCHIGETES (CESTODA: CARYOPHYLLIDEA) IN NORTH AMERICA: TWO NEW COMBINATIONS AND DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES FROM GOLDEN SHINER.","authors":"Tomáš Scholz, Martin C Wolf, Anindo Choudhury","doi":"10.1645/25-56","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1645/25-56","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tapeworms of the order Caryophyllidea (Cestoda) are widespread parasites of cypriniform and siluriform fishes. Most species occur in suckers (Catostomidae) in the Nearctic, including 4 species of the enigmatic genus Archigetes Leuckart, 1878. Species of this genus can mature in oligochaetes, i.e., may have a monoxenous (direct) life cycle. In this article, Archigetes notemigoni n. sp. is described from the golden shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas (Mitchill, 1814) (Leuciscidae) in Wisconsin. The new species differs from other Archigetes species in having a small (≤2 mm long), spindle-shaped body with the maximum width at the middle, tapering toward the scolex and posterior end, and a small scolex wider than the neck, with a pair of narrow, deep median loculi on the dorsal and ventral sides and 2 pairs of lateral, very shallow loculi. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that A. notemigoni is closely related to Archigetes sieboldi Leuckart, 1878 and Archigetes vadosus Uhrovič, Oros, Kudlai, Kuchta, & Scholz, 2022. In addition, Hypocaryophyllaeus gilae Fischthal, 1953 from the Utah chub Gila atraria (Girard, 1856) in Wyoming and Biacetabulum oregoni Williams, 1978 from the largescale sucker Catostomus macrocheilus Girard, 1856 in Oregon are placed as new combinations in Archigetes because their morphology, such as the shape of the small body (usually <5 mm in total length), bulboloculate scolex, distribution of vitelline follicles, and shape of the ovary, corresponds to that of Archigetes species. In total, the Nearctic fauna of Archigetes now comprises 7 species: 4 from minnows (Leuciscidae) and 3 from suckers (Catostomidae). In addition, there are 2 undescribed Archigetes morphotypes from Notropis spp. (Leuciscidae) in northern Mexico.</p>","PeriodicalId":16659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology","volume":"112 2","pages":"241-249"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147774487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND PERCEPTIONS OF ACTIVE LEARNING IN AN UNDERGRADUATE PARASITOLOGY COURSE.","authors":"J T Cornelius, J J Cielocha","doi":"10.1645/25-20","DOIUrl":"10.1645/25-20","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Student learning objectives for an undergraduate Parasitology course were used to design a pre- and post-assessment over various topics in Parasitology. The assessment was administered to 46 undergraduate students enrolled in either the fall of 2021 or 2023. Throughout the semester, students participated in active learning exercises that were designed to emphasize parasite morphology, identification of developmental stages, and life cycle transmission. Students demonstrated substantial growth in their understanding of parasitology topics with pre-test averages below 60% and post-test averages near 90%. Student reflections highlighted the usefulness of active learning. Student learning objectives and the designed materials are easy to use and adaptable for use in any Parasitology course. Several national scientific societies have developed and implemented educational guidelines or learning objectives for their respective fields. However, these are not yet found in the field of Parasitology.</p>","PeriodicalId":16659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology","volume":"112 2","pages":"209-215"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147723012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"SCIENTIFIC MINI-CHATS: CONNECTING STUDENTS TO SCIENTISTS IN THE CLASSROOM.","authors":"Ana Elisa Garcia-Vedrenne, Sara Beth Weinstein, Douglas J McCauley, Nathan Emery","doi":"10.1645/25-10","DOIUrl":"10.1645/25-10","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The scientific mini-chat lesson we describe here is designed for undergraduate students to interpret primary literature, understand the scientific process, identify pathways to becoming a scientist, and reflect on the perception of scientists. The lesson elements include (1) instructor selection of an article and a guest scientist for the mini-chats, (2) students reading the scientific article and performing background research on the expert, (3) student write-up of personal reflections and questions for the expert, and (4) a video conference with the guest scientist. We provide a detailed description of each element, evaluation of the lesson's effectiveness regarding our learning objectives, and best practices for successful implementation. The lesson was designed for use in upper-division biology courses. Here, we focus on how the scientific mini-chats were applied in 1 focal upper-division parasitology course, with supplemental data from 2 other upper-division biology courses. We used pre- and post-course student surveys to assess the impact of the scientific mini-chats. Survey responses indicated that the mini-chats increased student confidence in the ability to read primary literature, understand the scientific process, and identify pathways to being a professional scientist. In addition, the mini-chats allowed students to connect with scientists from a diversity of backgrounds and career paths. As such, the mini-chats are tools that can enrich the learning experience in undergraduate biology courses by encouraging students to independently explore scientific information and become more confident self-learners.</p>","PeriodicalId":16659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology","volume":"112 2","pages":"189-197"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147723070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"AN ACTIVE LEARNING PROJECT FOR TEACHING BIOINFORMATICS, PHYLOGENETICS, AND PARASITOLOGY.","authors":"Robert C Jadin, Sarah A Orlofske","doi":"10.1645/25-19","DOIUrl":"10.1645/25-19","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article describes an active learning project designed for implementation in general biology, ecology, evolution, and parasitology courses. It involves individual or group-based tasks in which students role-play as various types of biologists to solve real-world parasitology problems through molecular data analysis. Specifically, students are provided with a scenario and a molecular data set to analyze, which involves performing bioinformatic tasks to construct a phylogenetic tree. Students use MEGA software to explore, create, and illustrate a phylogenetic analysis of parasites with GenBank sequences. The resulting phylogenetic tree helps identify an \"unknown\" taxon and provides the evidence required to address the scenario and answer the posed question. By fostering a deeper understanding of evolutionary processes and bioinformatics tools, this project not only enhances students' knowledge of parasitology but also prepares them to tackle complex, interdisciplinary challenges in global health, biodiversity conservation, and beyond, shaping the next generation of scientists capable of addressing the urgent issues facing our world.</p>","PeriodicalId":16659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology","volume":"112 2","pages":"203-208"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147722988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ENGAGING STUDENT ATTENTION WITH ACTIVE LEARNING AND CREATIVE PROJECTS IN PARASITOLOGY COURSES.","authors":"C Anaya, J F Shea","doi":"10.1645/25-12","DOIUrl":"10.1645/25-12","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Engaging the attention of undergraduates in a parasitology course is challenging for a variety of reasons: social media and online shopping compete for the instructor's attention, undergraduates have diverse backgrounds (i.e., socio-economically and racially) and different learning styles, and parasitology requires remembering numerous Latin species names, scientific terms, and easily confused parasitic life cycles. Active learning strategies and creative projects can help overcome these challenges by placing the student at the center of instruction. Active learning pedagogy, which takes place in the classroom, encourages student knowledge, understanding, problem solving, and critical thinking. Creative projects can be assigned outside the classroom and engage student imagination, making learning more fun and more memorable. Compared to traditional lectures, these strategies facilitate greater student participation and engagement, resulting in positive learning outcomes. We provide descriptions and examples of active learning strategies as well as creative projects that can be used in parasitology courses.</p>","PeriodicalId":16659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology","volume":"112 2","pages":"198-202"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147723043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"IMPLEMENTING AN ALTERNATIVE GRADING APPROACH IN AN UPPER-DIVISION PARASITOLOGY COURSE.","authors":"Ana Elisa García-Vedrenne, Evan A Fiorenza, Kevin Hernandez García","doi":"10.1645/25-13","DOIUrl":"10.1645/25-13","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Traditional grading methods often lead to students debating about points rather than focusing on learning, making grading one of the least enjoyable aspects of teaching. Alternative grading approaches, including specifications grading, are gaining attention for their potential to shift focus back to learning, improving students' content knowledge and motivation. This case study explores the implementation of specifications grading in an upper-division parasitology course. The course structure was built around 4 core elements of specifications grading: (1) learning outcomes that are carefully defined, (2) grade bundles with clearly defined specifications that need to be met, (3) opportunities for assignment revision and creating feedback loops, and (4) a token economy for added flexibility. The course targeted various learning goals, from recognizing major parasitic groups to synthesizing primary literature in parasite ecology. Course components, including quizzes, in-class activities, journal club presentations, and project reports, were organized into bundles aligned with specific learning outcomes. A token system allowed students to request extensions or revisions, providing additional flexibility beyond the built-in opportunities for improvement. Benefits of this approach include increased student autonomy, opportunities for growth through revision, and transparency in grade expectations. Analysis of token usage revealed that the built-in course flexibility was sufficient for most students, with tokens providing extra support when needed. A postcourse survey gathered student perceptions, revealing favorable feedback on the specifications grading system, with many students appreciating the transparency and focus on growth over time. This case study showcases how specifications grading can create a more equitable, learner-focused environment, contributing to the growing body of research on alternative grading methods in higher education.</p>","PeriodicalId":16659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology","volume":"112 2","pages":"216-225"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147722962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"UTILIZING THE POWER OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN PARASITOLOGY: A RETROSPECTIVE.","authors":"Ania Bialic, Thomas Crellen, Arporn Wangwiwatsin, Andreia Albuquerque-Wendt, Prajwal Rajbhandari, Rojlina Manandhar, Suvechhya Bastola, Walt Adamson, Nicola Veitch, Annette Macleod, Janelisa Musaya, Maria Cortuna, Marina Kugler, Andrew P Waters","doi":"10.1645/25-15","DOIUrl":"10.1645/25-15","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Public engagement is an essential component of modern scientific practice, promoting transparency, mutual learning, and trust between researchers and society. This article explores the importance of public engagement in science, with a particular focus on the field of parasitology. Drawing on the experiences of the Glasgow Centre for Parasitology (formally the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology at the University of Glasgow), this retrospective illustrates the diverse methods used to connect scientists with audiences ranging from schoolchildren to communities directly affected by parasitic diseases. Through creative and collaborative approaches, the Centre has sought to demystify research, stimulate curiosity, and foster 2-way communication between the public and researchers. In doing so, the Centre has demonstrated how meaningful engagement can both enhance scientific literacy and strengthen public understanding of and participation in global health research.</p>","PeriodicalId":16659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology","volume":"112 2","pages":"226-240"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147723119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}