Aznar F J, Hernández-Orts J, Suárez A A, García-Varela M, Raga J A, Cappozzo H L
Unitat de Zoologia Marina, Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat y Biologia Evolutiva, Universitat de València, PO Box 22085, Valencia 46071, Spain.
J Helminthol. 2012 Jun;86(2):156-64. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X11000149. Epub 2011 Apr 18.
In this paper we report an investigation of the utility of coprological analysis as an alternative technique to study parasite specificity whenever host sampling is problematic; acanthocephalans from marine mammals were used as a model. A total of 252 scats from the South American sea lion, Otaria flavescens, and rectal faeces from 43 franciscanas, Pontoporia blainvillei, from Buenos Aires Province, were examined for acanthocephalans. Specimens of two species, i.e. Corynosoma australe and C. cetaceum, were collected from both host species. In sea lions, 78 out of 145 (37.9%) females of C. australe were gravid and the sex ratio was strongly female-biased. However, none of the 168 females of C. cetaceum collected was gravid and the sex ratio was not female-biased. Conversely, in franciscanas, 14 out of 17 (82.4%) females of C. cetaceum were gravid, but none of 139 females of C. australe was, and the sex ratio of C. cetaceum, but not that of C. australe, was female-biased. In putative non-hosts, the size of worms was similar to that from specimens collected from prey. Results suggest that both acanthocephalans contact sea lions and franciscanas regularly. However, C. australe and C. cetaceum cannot apparently reproduce, nor even grow, in franciscanas and sea lions, respectively. Coprological analysis may represent a useful supplementary method to investigate parasite specificity, particularly when host carcasses are difficult to obtain.
在本文中，我们报告了一项关于粪便学分析效用的调查，该分析作为一种替代技术，用于在宿主采样存在问题时研究寄生虫特异性；以海洋哺乳动物的棘头虫作为模型。对来自南美洲海狮（Otaria flavescens）的252份粪便以及来自布宜诺斯艾利斯省的43只弗氏海豚（Pontoporia blainvillei）的直肠粪便进行了棘头虫检查。从这两种宿主中均采集到了两种棘头虫的标本，即南方柯氏棘头虫（Corynosoma australe）和鲸柯氏棘头虫（C. cetaceum）。在海狮中，南方柯氏棘头虫的145只雌性中有78只（37.9%）怀有身孕，且性别比例严重偏向雌性。然而，所采集的168只鲸柯氏棘头虫雌性均未怀孕，且性别比例无雌性偏向。相反，在弗氏海豚中，鲸柯氏棘头虫的17只雌性中有14只（82.4%）怀有身孕，但南方柯氏棘头虫的139只雌性均未怀孕，且鲸柯氏棘头虫的性别比例存在雌性偏向，而南方柯氏棘头虫的则没有。在假定的非宿主中，蠕虫的大小与从猎物采集的标本相似。结果表明，这两种棘头虫都经常接触海狮和弗氏海豚。然而，南方柯氏棘头虫和鲸柯氏棘头虫显然无法分别在弗氏海豚和海狮体内繁殖，甚至无法生长。粪便学分析可能是研究寄生虫特异性的一种有用的补充方法，特别是在难以获得宿主尸体的情况下。
