ABSTRACT
On two occasions in November and December 2009, whilst being captured and handled for banding in Tasman Bay, New Zealand, two variable oystercatchers (Haematopus unicolor Forster, 1844) voided a number of cestode strobilae from their cloaca. Their morphology indicates that they belong to the family Hymenolepididae, confirmed by BLASTn searches of large and small subunits of ribosomal DNA partial sequences (18S and 28S, respectively). However, they cannot currently be assigned to any species reported for any oystercatcher species from New Zealand nor from oystercatchers worldwide. We present a checklist of all cestode parasites reported in the literature for Haematopus species, along with their sources and synonyms. While the taxonomy of New Zealand oystercatchers is currently uncertain, more detailed knowledge of the parasite fauna of this bird group may help to elucidate the historical biogeography of the oystercatchers. The means of collection of these tapeworms is unusual and does not appear to have been reported in the literature previously.
Subject(s)
Bird Diseases/parasitology , Cestoda/isolation & purification , Cestode Infections/veterinary , Charadriiformes/parasitology , Animals , Cestoda/classification , Cestode Infections/parasitology , DNA, Helminth/chemistry , DNA, Helminth/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal/chemistry , DNA, Ribosomal/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/chemistry , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/genetics , Molecular Sequence Data , New Zealand , RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics , RNA, Ribosomal, 28S/genetics , Sequence Analysis, DNAABSTRACT
The role of wild birds in the spread of influenza H5N1 virus remains speculative and the ecology of influenza A viruses in nature is largely unstudied. There is an urgent need for multidisciplinary studies to explore the ecology of avian influenza viruses in wild birds and the environment to support ecological interpretation of the source of disease outbreaks in poultry.
Subject(s)
Animals, Wild/virology , Birds/virology , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype , Influenza in Birds/transmission , Animal Migration , Animals , Disease Outbreaks/veterinary , Ecosystem , Influenza in Birds/epidemiology , Influenza in Birds/virologyABSTRACT
This paper presents a new 16-item scale designed to measure attitudes regarding the importance of role modeling in physical activity and fitness behaviors among Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance professionals. The measure was reviewed for face validity by a panel of experts and preliminary analyses gave as Cronbach alpha of .95 and split-half reliability of .97 for 22 graduate students.
Subject(s)
Attitude , Health Behavior , Physical Education and Training/standards , Physical Fitness , Surveys and Questionnaires , Teaching/standards , Humans , Imitative Behavior , Psychometrics , RoleABSTRACT
Free-ranging passerine birds banded at the Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong, were affected with a skin disease characterized by crusty, proliferative lesions on legs, feet and beaks. Based on retrospective examination of 1990 to 1992 banding records, 83 of 16,353 birds and 5 of 161 species banded at Mai Po were identified as having these lesions. Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus) were most commonly affected (58 of 411 birds) although 19 of 428 black-faced buntings (Emberiza pusilla), 3 of 92 spotted doves (Streptopelia chinensis), and 2 of 616 eastern great reed warblers (Acrocephalus orientalis) also had clinical signs of infestation. Adult Eurasian tree sparrows were affected more often than juveniles and males were affected more often than females. Lesions on juveniles usually were on the feet while on adults lesions also were found on legs and beak. The effects of this parasitic infestation on body weight of wild Eurasian tree sparrows was not significant.