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Publications (610)
Regarding parasite infection dynamics, the effects in host and parasite responses are often shaped by a multitude of biotic and abiotic parameters that can act as confounding factors when trying to understand parasitic associations. Cases of phylogenetically related species living in sympatry can provide excellent opportunities to delve into parasi...
Parasites, through their potential effects on hosts, add extra complexity to ecosystems. In Moledo, northern Portugal, two species of wall lizards (Podarcis) live in near absolute sympatry, sharing habitat and parasites (orders Adeleorina and Eimeriorina), but despite their close phylogenetic relatedness, they appear to react very differently to in...
Modern studies have shown how parasites add extra complexity to ecosystems through their potential effects on hosts. Blood parasites are common in lizards and various studies have suggested varying degrees of negative effects on these hosts. In this study, we investigate effects of infection by blood parasites on the boldness and aggressiveness of...
Patterns of morphological and genetic diversity within the fringe-toed lizards of the genus Acanthodactylus have puzzled systematists since the first assessments, and none more so than the Acanthodactylus erythrurus complex. A recent study combining multi-locus sequence data and morphological characters partially resolved the situation, identifying...
The genetic structure and dispersal dynamics of reptile populations are profoundly influenced by natural processes and human activities. While natural dispersal is shaped by species' characteristics and paleogeographical features, human-mediated translocations have become increasingly prevalent, posing ecological challenges. Mitochondrial genetic m...
Distinguishing between anthropogenic introductions and natural colonizations can be complex, especially in groups that are evidently both capable natural colonizers and anthropophilic, such as some geckos of the genus Hemidactylus. However, such information is fundamental both for constructing appropriate conservation approaches, as well as to iden...
The burrowing scorpions of the genus Scorpio Linnaeus, 1758 were considered to be a single polymorphic species, Scorpio maurus Linnaeus, 1758, distributed from West Africa across the Sahel and the Saharan highlands through the Maghreb and the Middle East, to Iran. After various revisions, the complex was treated as including 18 species and seven su...
Freshwater turtles comprise 81% of all chelonian species despite freshwater systems only occupying 1% of the earth’s surface, and they are commonly exploited as pets and food resources. This contact between humans and turtles may put both sides at risk of disease transmission. Additionally, human impact on ecosystems can cause disease outbreaks in...
Modern studies have shown how parasites add extra complexity to species interactions with their ecosystems by the way they affect their host. Haemogregarine parasites are common in lizards, although various studies have suggested varying degrees of repercussions for the host. In this study, we investigate effects of haemogregarine infection on the...
Modern studies have shown how parasites add extra complexity to species interactions with their ecosystems by the way they affect their host. When it comes to haemogregarine parasites of lizards, however, even intense infections by these parasites appear largely inconsequential-both in health and behaviour-, leaving to wonder if their true effects...
Determining the dietary niche is an essential part of any conservation strategy, and for modeling the community responses to climate change. DNA metabarcoding methods are revolutionizing such approaches, allowing higher taxonomic resolution than typically possible using microscopy. However, few studies have compared directly the approaches to evalu...
The Linnean nomenclatural system dominates in taxonomy, despite various ethical issues being raised regarding the rules applied to this approach. Some recent proposals to adapt the system have been dismissed as destabilizing by many taxonomists. However, simple rule changes and amendments to address these issues could be implemented without excessi...
The development of an inventory of earth’s biodiversity—identifying and naming all living species—is a central tenet of biological science. For over 250 years, the Linnean system has been the predominant naming approach, with new species designated by a unique Latinized binomina following rules laid out by the International Code of Zoological Nomen...
Coralsnakes of the genus Micrurus are a diverse group of venomous snakes ranging from the southern United States to southern South America. Much uncertainty remains over the genus diversity, and understanding Micrurus systematics is of medical importance. In particular, the widespread Micrurus nigrocinctus spans from Mexico throughout Central Ameri...
Purpose Understanding the factors influencing parasite diversification, their distribution and infection patterns among hosts provides valuable information on the impact of parasitism on natural populations and the dynamics and evolution of disease outbreaks. In this study, we investigated prevalence and intensity of infection by blood parasites, t...
We report a field observation of a Podarcis lusitanicus wall lizard consuming the tail of another lizard in Póvoa do Lanhoso, northern Portugal. Because there are two species of Podarcis present in this locality, we used genetic markers to confirm that the tail belonged to another individual of the same species, proving that this was a case of intr...
Background
Host-gut microbiota interactions are complex and can have a profound impact on the ecology and evolution of both counterparts. Several host traits such as systematics, diet and social behavior, and external factors such as prey availability and local environment are known to influence the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota....
Atlantolacerta andreanskyi (Werner, 1929) is an endemic lizard from the High Atlas Mountains region of Morocco. A previous molecular assessment of this species using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers uncovered extensive genetic diversity with seven lineages indicative of a species complex. A morphological assessment of six of these lineages did...
Haemogregarines (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) are the most common and widespread reptilian blood parasites. Haemogregarina stepanowi was the first haemogregarine described from a reptile, the European pond turtle Emys orbicularis, and initial assessments indicated it was widespread across different pond turtle host species across much of Europe, the Mi...
Simple Summary
Islands have long been acknowledged as model systems for studying evolution, and within these, lizards and their blood parasites can be an ideal framework to determine how island characteristics, such as size and isolation, correlate with parasite prevalence and intensity. In this study, we assessed haemogregarine parasite diversity...
In this study, a new scorpion species, Scorpio atlasensis sp. n. from Northwestern Algeria and Northeastern Morocco is described. Morphologically, the new species can be distinguished by the general coloration, the pectinal plate shape and others features. We used partial sequences of the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I gene to confirm the disti...
Molecular tools can be used to estimate the phylogeny of species and to identify cryptic diversity, but their use for parasites has lagged behind that of free-ranging organisms. As an example, in North Africa there is minimal molecular data available for helminth parasites of lizards. In this work we used two molecular markers (the nuclear 18S rRNA...
Host-gut microbiota interactions are complex and can have a profound impact on the ecology and evolution of both counterparts. Several host traits such as systematics, diet and social behavior, and external factors such as prey availability and local environment are known to influence the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota. In this stu...
Urocotyledon inexpectata, a small gecko endemic to the granitic islands of the Seychelles, has previously been demonstrated to comprise two highly distinct clades based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences, with one lineage exclusive to a northern group of islands, and the second lineage exclusive to the more southerly islands. Here we comple...
Molecular tools have revolutionized assessments of blood parasites in freshwater turtles. In the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, two native species of terrapins occur, Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus) and Mauremys leprosa (Schweigger). Both have been identified as hosts for the blood parasite Haemogregarina stepanowi Danilewsky, 1885, which has also...
Using molecular tools in parasitology help to understand the phylogeny of species, and importantly to discovery the cryptic diversity of parasites. Nevertheless, in the North of Africa, little molecular data are available for helminthes parasites of lizards. This work uses two nuclear markers (18S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 ''CO1'') to i...
Host-gut microbiota interactions are complex and can have a profound impact on the ecology and evolution of both counterparts. Several host traits such as taxonomy, diet and social behavior, and external factors such as prey availability and local environment are known to influence the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota. In this study,...
Seven species of house geckos occur across the scattered islands of the Indian Ocean. Two of these, Hemidactylus frenatus and H. parvimaculatus are both widespread and possess distribution profiles that suggest pre-European, or perhaps natural dispersal to some islands. Of these, only H. frenatus currently has sufficient molecular data to begin exp...
Recent studies have reported declines in lizard populations associated with local warming trends and alteration of thermal niches. These studies suggest that there are some key physiological and behavioural parameters that determine the sensitivity of each species to the local context of global warming. The Atlas Dwarf Lizard, Atlantolacerta andrea...
Hybridisation is a common evolutionary process with multiple possible outcomes. In vertebrates, interspecific hybridisation has repeatedly generated parthenogenetic hybrid species. However, it is unknown whether the generation of parthenogenetic hybrids is a rare outcome of frequent hybridisation between sexual species within a genus or the typical...
Data mining animal of genomes has been used before to identify endoparasites, and may be a particularly useful tool to surpass some difficulties faced by studies in the marine environment. We detected a species of Sarcocystis Lankester, 1882, contamination in the sperm whale (Physeter catodon Linnaeus) reference genome available in the GenBank data...
Tortoise ticks, Hyalomma aegyptium, are considered so strongly associated with their hosts that they are even used as indirect indicators for them. In such a case, a robust pattern of congruence between host and parasite could be expected, with phylogeographic breaks within the host being reflected in their parasites. We sequenced two mitochondrial...
Host-gut microbiota interactions are complex and can have a profound impact on the ecology and evolution of both counterparts. Several host traits such as taxonomy, diet and social behavior, and external factors such as prey availability and local environment are known to influence the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota. In this study,...
Host-gut microbiota interactions are complex and can have a profound impact on the ecology and evolution of both counterparts. Several host traits such as taxonomy, diet and social behavior, and external factors such as prey availability and local environment are known to influence the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota. In this study,...
Assessment of parasites and their pathogenicity is essential for studying the ecology of populations and understanding their dynamics. In this study, we investigate the prevalence and intensity of infection of haemogregarines (phylum Apicomplexa) in two sympatric lizard species, Podarcis vaucheri and Scelarcis perspicillata , across three localitie...
Distribution, prevalence and parasitaemia of apicomplexan parasites of the genus Haemogregarina were studied in 858 freshwater turtles (735 Mauremys leprosa leprosa and 123 Mauremys leprosa saharica) throughout 30 localities from Morocco. Blood smears were collected from the turtles and partial 18S rRNA sequence data used to infer genetic diversity...
The contribution of North Africa to the assembly of biodiversity within the Western Palaearctic is still poorly documented. Since the Miocene, multiple biotic exchanges occurred across the Strait of Gibraltar, underlying the high biogeographic affinity between the western European and African sides of the Mediterranean basin. We investigated the bi...
Although intranuclear coccidiosis was first identified in chelonians less than 30 years ago, it is now considered an important emerging disease. Symptoms include anorexia, weakness and weight loss, potentially leading to death of the infected animal. The use of molecular tools has led to improved diagnosis and has also led to an increase in known h...
Invasive species can carry parasites to introduced locations, which may be key to understand the success or failure of species establishment and the invasive potential of introduced species. We compared the prevalence and infection levels of haemogregarine blood parasites between two sympatric congeneric species in Lisbon, Portugal: the invasive It...
en The islands of Trinidad and Tobago form a southern extension of the Lesser Antilles. Unlike the continental island of Trinidad, the more northerly Tobago formed as an older oceanic island volcanic arc. Their reptile biodiversity reflects colonization events from the South American mainland through land bridge connections at times of glacial maxi...
Although dietary studies are essential to design effective conservation strategies for amphibians, non-invasive studies using microscopy assessment of faecal material are known to have limitations. We assessed the use of DNA metabarcoding to determine diet in the Moroccan painted frog Discoglossus scovazzi. Nineteen families of insects were identif...
Ticks carry a diverse community of microorganisms including non-pathogenic symbionts, commensals and pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, protozoans, and fungi. The assessment of tick-borne microorganisms (TBM) in tortoises and their ticks is essential to understand their eco-epidemiology, and to map and monitor potential pathogens to humans and o...
The Mediterranean basin is a hotspot of biodiversity, fuelled by climatic oscillation and geological change over the past 20 million years. Wall lizards of the genus Podarcis are among the most abundant, diverse, and conspicuous Mediterranean fauna. Here, we unravel the remarkably entangled evolutionary history of wall lizards by sequencing genomes...
Our knowledge of the conservation status of reptiles, the most diverse class of terrestrial vertebrates, has improved dramatically over the past decade, but still lags behind that of the other tetrapod groups. Here, we conduct the first comprehensive evaluation (~92% of the world's ~1714 described species) of the conservation 1 Joint senior authors...
Phylogenetic relationships of sub-Saharan African natricine snakes are understudied and poorly understood, which in turn has precluded analyses of the historical biogeography of the Seychelles endemic Lycognathophis seychellensis. We inferred the phylogenetic relationships of Seychelles and mainland sub-Saharan natricines by analysing a multilocus...
Podarcis wall lizards are endemic to the Mediterranean Basin where they represent the predominant reptile group. Despite being extensively used as model organisms in evolutionary and ecological studies their phylogeny and historical biogeography are still incompletely resolved. Moreover, molecular clock calibrations used in wall lizard phylogeograp...
Plate tectonics constitute one of the main mechanisms of biological diversification on Earth, often being associated with cladogenetic events at different phylogenetic levels, as well as with exchange of faunas and floras across previously isolated biogeographic regions. North Africa and Arabia share a complex geological history that dates back to...
Three related and morphologically similar small Psammodromus species (P. hispanicus complex) occur in the Iberian Peninsula and Mediterranean France, Psammodromus hispanicus, Psammo-dromus occidentalis, and Psammodromus edwarsianus. Despite recent works, overall ranges of the species remain partially uncertain, in particular for Westernmost part of...
Currently, two subspecies of Psammodromus algirus are typically considered in Morocco ― P. algirus algirus and P. algirus nollii –, while a third form “ketamensis” is generally identified as a morphotype. However, this classification is based on colouration differences, and has not been assessed using genetic data, as the previously conducted bioge...
Genetic diversity within partial 18S rRNA sequences from Hepatozoon protozoan parasites from wild felines in South Africa was assessed and compared with data from domestic cats to assess patterns of host specificity. Lions, leopards, servals, a caracal and an African wildcat were all positive for parasites of the Hepatozoon felis-complex. However,...
Recently Greay et al. (Parasit Vectors 11:197, 2018) described several new Apicomplexa parasites from domestic companion animals in Australia. Harris (Parasit Vectors 12;172, 2019) highlighted that these descriptions did not conform to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) rules. Despite Harris (2019) clearly noting “molecular ch...
Anatolia is characterized by a complex topological structure and a wide diversity of climatic regions. This geological context has been crucial during the evolution of the rock lizard genus Darevskia, promoting the origin of several species within this group of lizards. Our study focuses on the evolutionary history of the rudis species complex, com...
Biological invasions are a contemporary global threat because invasive species can have substantial negative economic and ecological impacts. Invasive species can outcompete native species through two main mechanisms: interference competition (direct, negative interactions like aggression) and/or exploitative competition (indirect, negative interac...
During spring 2018, we captured 101 spur-thighed tortoises, Testudo graeca, from seven localities in central Morocco. All tortoises were examined for the presence of blood parasites Hemolivia mauritanica and Hyalomma aegyptium ticks, the known vectors. We looked for H. mauritanica infection by examination of blood smears and by genetic analysis wit...
The Podarcis genus has already been shown to comprise an immense amount of variation within
itself, with more and more species being added to its ranks as more speciation events are
identified through molecular approaches; nevertheless, for its African range, only the P.
vaucheri remains considered. At least two highly differentiated lineages have...
Identification of extremely high levels of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence divergence within reptiles from North Africa is commonplace. This high divergence often compares with interspecific levels among widely accepted species, leading to the hypothesis of the occurrence of species complexes. Indeed, in many examples, data from nuclear markers...
Hemosporidians are a monophyletic group of protozoan parasites infecting all terrestrial vertebrate orders. Although Plasmodium is the most studied genus within the Haemosporidia, this research effort is heavily biased toward mammal and bird hosts. We screened 205 specimens of at least 18 reptile species from Brazil using a partial mitochondrial cy...
Screening of ticks from companion animals from Australia using genetic tools has recently been used to identify and name eight new species of Apicomplexan parasites. However, the diagnosis of these was based on genetic distinctiveness and phylogenetic relationships rather than determination of specific characters, which is required by the Internati...
The gelatinous, calciferous red alga Renouxia antillana was described in 1995 based on material from Guadeloupe, French West Indies, and accommodated in a new family and order (Rhodogorgonaceae, Rhodogorgonales) along with the genus Rhodogorgon from Belize and Caribbean Panama. For more than 20 years, Renouxia has remained monotypic, with rare repo...
On a variety of levels, parasites are profoundly important. Somewhat surprisingly therefore, parasites infecting reptiles are often very poorly known, particularly relative to those from mammals and birds. Haemogregarines, apicomplexan intracellular parasites, are some of the most common in reptiles. Recently Calil et al. (2019) presented a molecul...
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Climatic conditions changing over time and space shape the evolution of organisms at multiple levels, including temperate lizards in the family Lacertidae. Here we reconstruct a dated phylogenetic tree of 262 lacertid species based on a supermatrix relying on novel phylogenomic datasets and fossil calibrations. Diversification of lacertids was acco...
The Corsica-Sardinia archipelago provides a simplified model for studying the response of insular and coastal temperate biotas to the cyclic contraction-expansion of habitats associated to Pleistocene climate and sea-level oscillations. We investigated the phylogeography and historical demography of the Leaf-toed Gecko Euleptes europaea using both...
Background:
Venom has evolved in parallel in multiple animals for the purpose of self-defense, prey capture or both. These venoms typically consist of highly complex mixtures of toxins: diverse bioactive peptides and/or proteins each with a specific pharmacological activity. Because of their specificity, they can be used as experimental tools to s...
Obligate parthenogenesis is found in only 0.1% of the vertebrate species, is thought to be relatively short lived and is typically of hybrid origin. However, neither the evolutionary persistence of asexuality in vertebrates, nor the conditions that allow the generation of new parthenogenetic lineages are currently well understood. It has been propo...
We provide a list of amphibians and reptiles collected in Ubajara National Park, Ceará, Brazil, from April 2014 to May 2015. The local herpetofauna was sampled using active searches and pitfall traps, divided into four altitudinal bands along the park. We recorded a total of 70 species, including 25 anurans, one caecilian, one amphisbaenian, two ch...
DNA metabarcoding is a fast and simple alternative to traditional microscopy methods, which have been the main tool for identification of prey in dietary studies of lizards. In this study, we applied a metabarcoding approach based on COI and 16S rRNA amplicons to assess diet partitioning and feeding strategies in three syntopic lizards from Taza, M...
Genetic diversity within partial 18S rRNA sequences from Hepatozoon protozoan parasites from domestic cats in South Africa was assessed and compared against published data to assess global biogeographic patterns. Multiple distinct haplotypes of Hepatozoon felis were identified, as well as an unrelated Hepatozoon lineage. Hepatozoon felis genetic di...
