Division of Environmental Sciences, College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry (ESF), State University of New York, Syracuse, New York, United States of America.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2023 Oct 6;17(10):e0011122. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011122. eCollection 2023 Oct.
In 1971, scientists from Mahidol University in Thailand and the Smithsonian Institution in the USA formed a research team to study a new species of Schistosoma in the Mekong River in Thailand and Laos. The studies, completed during 1971-1973, prior to the construction of any dams or restrictions to the natural flow regime of the Mekong River, provide a unique description of the natural ecological state of the river that can serve as a baseline for current research. The natural transmission of Schistosoma japonicum, Mekong Strain, was first reported on Khong Island, Laos in 1973 using sentinel mice. The first detailed description of the habitat ecology of the snail vector Neotricula aperta was done on-site in 1971 simultaneously with that research and is unique in providing the only description of the river shoreline habitat before any dams were built and any alteration of the natural flow regime was in place. Aggregating current information in a Place-Based Conceptual Model (PBCM) as an organizing template, along with current habitat models that combine ecological data with e-flows, can be developed and used as a tool to predict suitable habitats for snails. The natural flow regime of the Mekong River prior to any impoundments is described with current updates on the potential impacts of climate change and dams with flow-related snail habitat characteristics, including sediment drift and water quality. The application of the PBCM to describe and compare descriptive information on current and potential future N. aperta/S. mekongi habitat is discussed.
1971 年，来自泰国玛希隆大学和美国史密森学会的科学家组成了一个研究小组，在泰国和老挝的湄公河研究一种新的血吸虫物种。这些研究是在 1971 年至 1973 年期间完成的，当时还没有建造任何大坝，也没有对湄公河的自然水流模式进行限制，为河流的自然生态状况提供了独特的描述，可以作为当前研究的基准。1973 年，在老挝孔岛首次使用哨鼠报告了日本血吸虫、湄公江株的自然传播。1971 年，与该研究同时在现场首次详细描述了田螺媒介 Neotricula aperta 的栖息地生态，并在任何大坝建成和任何自然水流模式改变之前，提供了唯一的河流岸线栖息地描述，这是独一无二的。在基于地点的概念模型 (PBCM) 中汇总当前信息作为组织模板，并结合将生态数据与电子流量相结合的当前栖息地模型，可以开发和使用该模型来预测适合蜗牛的栖息地。描述了湄公河在任何蓄水之前的自然水流模式，并更新了当前气候变化和与水流相关的蜗牛栖息地特征（包括泥沙漂移和水质）对大坝的潜在影响。讨论了将 PBCM 应用于描述和比较当前和潜在未来 N. aperta/S. mekongi 栖息地的描述性信息。
