Lucy Bunkley-Williams

An Epizootic of Cutaneous Fibropapillomas in Green Turtles Chelonia mydas of the Caribbean: Part of a Panzootic?

Abstract An epizootic of fibropapillomas in green turtles Chelonia mydas (Reptilia: Testudines: Cheloniidae) has occurred throughout the Caribbean since the mid-1980s. Similar epizootics in Hawaii and Florida began 5 years earlier. All may be part of a panzootic. The 125 Caribbean cases greatly expand the known range of these epizootics. All the tumors we examined had spirorchiid (Digenea) eggs. Few turtles we examined with tumors were emaciated. Additional tumors quickly erupted in some captive turtles, whereas tumors of others remained unchanged for 1 year. The turtle leech Ozobranchus branchiatus (Hirudinea: Ozobranchidae) was associated with only three green turtles with fibropapillomas.

Paleomicrobiology: Revealing Fecal Microbiomes of Ancient Indigenous Cultures

Coprolites are fossilized feces that can be used to provide information on the composition of the intestinal microbiota and, as we show, possibly on diet. We analyzed human coprolites from the Huecoid and Saladoid cultures from a settlement on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. While more is known about the Saladoid culture, it is believed that both societies co-existed on this island approximately from 5 to 1170 AD. By extracting DNA from the coprolites, followed by metagenomic characterization, we show that both cultures can be distinguished from each other on the basis of their bacterial and fungal gut microbiomes. In addition, we show that parasite loads were heavy and also culturally distinct. Huecoid coprolites were characterized by maize and Basidiomycetes sequences, suggesting that these were important components of their diet. Saladoid coprolite samples harbored sequences associated with fish parasites, suggesting that raw fish was a substantial component of their diet. The present study shows that ancient DNA is not entirely degraded in humid, tropical environments, and that dietary and/or host genetic differences in ancient populations may be reflected in the composition of their gut microbiome. This further supports the hypothesis that the two ancient cultures studied were distinct, and that they retained distinct technological/cultural differences during an extended period of close proximity and peaceful co-existence. The two populations seemed to form the later-day Taínos, the Amerindians present at the point of Columbian contact. Importantly, our data suggest that paleomicrobiomics can be a powerful tool to assess cultural differences between ancient populations.

Ability of Pederson cleaner shrimp to remove juveniles of the parasitic cymothoid isopod, Anilocra haemuli, from the host.

Eight species of prospective cleaners, four fishes (sharknosed goby Gobiosoma evelynae, and juveniles of bluehead (wrasse) Thalassoma bifasciatum, Spanish hogfish Bodianus rufus and gray angelfish Pomaccanthus arcuatus) and four shrimps (cleaner shrimp Lysmata grabhami, Pederson cleaner shrimp Periclimenes pedersoni, banded coral shrimp Stenopus hispidus and golden coral shrimp Stenopus scutellatus) were evaluated in aquaria for their ability to remove newly settled juveniles of the fish-parasitic cymothoid isopod Anilocra haemuli from French grunts Haemulon flavolineatum. Periclimenes pedersoni removed all isopods almost immediately. No other cleaners removed any isopods over a 24 hr challenge period. This study is the first evidence that cleaner shrimps can remove juvenile cymothoid isopods.

Helminth and arthropod parasites of the brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis , in Puerto Rico, with a compilation of all metazoan parasites reported from this host in the Western Hemisphere

Seven species of helminths and six species of arthropods are reported from 23 of 40 brown pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis , collected from various localities in Puerto Rico. Helminth parasites include three nematodes ( Contracaecum multipapillatum , Contracaecum mexicanum , and Eustrongylides sp.), three trematodes ( Galactosomum darbyi , Mesostephanus appendiculatoides , and Ribeiroia ondatrae ), and one cestode ( Tetrabothrium sulae ). Arthropod parasites include Colpocephalum occidentalis , Neottialges apunctatus , Ornithodoros capensis, Phalacrodectus pelecani, Phalacrodectus punctatissimus , and Phalacrodectus sp. The presence of R. ondatrae in the brown pelican is a new species host record, and P. pelecani, P. punctatissimus and N. apunctatus are new subspecies host records. C. multipapillatum , C. mexicanum , G. darbyi and M. appendiculatoides are new locality records for Puerto Rico, and N. apunctatus, P. pelecani, P. punctatissimus and T. sulae are new locality records for the Caribbean. Necrosis produced by C. multipapillatum , C. mexicanum , and R. ondatrae may have contributed to the emaciation and death of the brown pelicans examined in the present study.

Four Cases of Unusual Crustacean-Fish Associations and Comments on Parasitic Processes

Abstract Unusual short-term associations provide insight into the long-term development or modification of parasitism. A superinfestation of a trap-held crevalle jack Caranx hippos by juvenile cymothoid isopods Cymothoa oestrum suggested loss of the mechanism controlling numbers of isopods on a host, and overcrowding on the host overcame this isopods strict site specificity. Crabs (Decapoda) have not been reported as parasites of fishes, but unidentified crab zoeae superinfested the gills of a trap-held gray angelfish Pomacanthus arcuatus. Adult burrowing crabs Raninoides lamarcki invaded the gills of trap-held gray snapper Lutjanus griseus; this suggested how a relatively large crustacean could become an opercular chamber parasite and how wound feeding could occur. An apparent prey-to-predator transfer of the cymothoid isopod Anilocra acuta to a free-swimming king mackerel Scomberomorus cavalla also represented a move from an external to a pharyngeal-attachment position in this site-specific isopod. Tra...

Influence of collection methods on the occurrence of alimentary canal helminth parasites in fish

The effect of collecting trauma on the metazoan parasites in the alimentary canal of French grunts, Haemulon flavolineatum (Desmarest) (Perciformes: Haemulidae), was evaluated by comparing the number and species of parasites in 10-fish lots that were identical except for collecting technique. Collecting techniques included speared (dead), speared through the caudal peduncle (live), trapped, dipnetted at night, and ostracitoxin exposed. Dead, trapped, and toxin-stressed fish had no alimentary canal parasites, whereas speared-live and night-dipnetted fish had comparable numbers of parasites. Fish collected by using apparently traumatic techniques quickly expelled their alimentary canal metazoan parasites. Our results cast doubt on the reliability of traditional fish parasite surveys, studies on population dynamics of fish parasites, and experiments that employ these traumatic collecting methods.

Pseudorhabdosynochus kritskyi n. sp. (Monogenea: Diplectanidae) on Gag from the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract Pseudorhabdosynochus kritskyi n. sp. from gag Mycteroperca microlepis (Perciformes: Serranidae) of the Gulf of Mexico is described and differs from all known species of the genus by the shape of the vagina. It may be further differentiated from P. americanum, P. amplidiscatum, P. caballeroi, P. epinepheli, P. latesi, P. monaensis, and Cycloplectanum magnisquamodiscum in having fewer rows of scales in each squamodisc. This new species is most similar to P. beverleyburtonae, P. bocquetae, P. cupatum, P. lantauensis, P. melanesiensis, P. querni, P. serrani, P. summanae, P. vagampullum, and Cycloplectanum riouxi in having 15 or fewer squamodisc rows, but it may be separated by differences in either squamodisc morphology or differently shaped hamuli or bars.

Pseudorhabdosynochus monaensis n. sp. (Monogenea: Diplectanidae) on Rock Hind from Mona Island, Puerto Rico

Abstract Pseudorhabdosynochus monaensis n. sp. from rock hind Epinephelus adscensionis (Perciformes: Serranidae) of Mona Island, Puerto Rico, differs from all known species by the shape of the vagina. It may be further differentiated from P. amplidiscatum, P. beverleyburtonae, P. bocquetae, P. caballeroi, P. cupatum, P. epinepheli, P. lantauensis, P. melanesiensis, P. querni, P. serrani, P. summanae, and P. vagampullum in having a greater number of rows of scales in each squamodisc. This new species is most similar to P. americanum, P. latesi, Cycloplectanum magnisquamodiscum, and Cyclopleclanum riouxi in having 20 or more squamodisc rows, but may be separated by differences in squamodisc morphology, male copulatory organ size, and differently shaped hamuli and dorsal bars.

New Leeches and Diseases for the Hawksbill Sea Turtle and the West Indies

Abstract The Green sea turtle leech, Ozobranchus brachiatus, infected a moribund hawksbill sea turtle (Eretomochelys imbricata) posthatchling juvenile at Farjardo, Puerto Rico. It usually infects green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, and has not been reported from wild E. imbriata. A superinfection of the loggerhead sea turtle leech, Ozobranchus margoi, occurred on a stranded E. imbricata at Vieques Island, causing sea turtle leech erosion disease (SLED). We name and describe this disease for the first time. Ozobranchus margoi usually infects loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, and has not previously been reported either from the West Indies or confirmed from wild hawksbill sea turtles. In Barbados, O. margoi was first associated with a nesting female E. imbricata in 1997, and has been seen in other individuals since. SLED has not previously been reported from wild sea turtles or from the West Indies.

Lingering Effects of the 1987 Mass Bleaching of Puerto Rican Coral Reefs in Mid to Late 1988

Abstract Puerto Rican coral reefs were surveyed with photo-transects and remotely operated vehicle observations, and permanently tagged individual corals were monitored. Seven of eight photo-transects examined between April and October 1988 had bleached or pale colonies of eight species of corals. Between 2.7 and 19% of the living coral surface area was affected on a transect. These observations indicate that additional bleaching occurred after the recovery of most photosymbiotic hosts in January 1988. This continued bleaching may represent the longest bleaching event ever recorded. Individual coral colonies that were bleached in October 1987 were permanently tagged and photo-documented in the field. Recovery of some of these colonies took more than 5 months. Some previously living parts of these colonies died and were overgrown by algae by January 1988. Surveys by remotely operated vehicle during 10–13 February 1988 disclosed bleached colonies of Agaricia spp. toa depth of 60 m and unbleached colonies to...