Zoologist (The)

Impact of climatic factors on entomological indices of Anopheles mosquitoes in Rivers State, Nigeria

U. Living-Jamala — 2024-12-29

This study observed the effects of climatic factors on entomological indices of Anopheles species causing malaria in Rivers State. Indoor resident mosquitoes were caught using pyrethrum spray catch technique, and were identified morphologically. Female Anopheles mosquitoes’ salivary glands were assessed, stained in Giemsa and viewed using a compound microscope. The result showed that a total of 764 individual mosquitoes comprising 3 species: An. gambiae (s.l) 455 (59.55%), An. funestus, 224 (29.32%) and An. coustani, 85 (11.12%) were recorded. A total of 141 mosquitoes were infected with sporozoites giving an overall Sporozoite Rate (SR) of 18.82%. Anopheles gambiae (s.l) had the highest sporozoite rate (23.30%) followed by An. coustani (18.82%) and then An. funestus (8.48%). Man Biting Rate (MBR) in Odual was 7.81b/n/p and 12.22b/n/p in Port Harcourt; Entomological Inoculation Rate (EIR) was 161.71 ib/n/p and 206.76 ib/n/p in Odual and Port Harcourt respectively. The SR, MBR and EIR showed a positive linear correlation with humidity and rainfall but a negative correlation with temperature across the two stations.

Diversity of anurans and their gastrointestinal helminth parasites within the University of Ibadan and environs, Oyo State, Nigeria

D.A. Oyebamiji — 2024-12-29

Anurans play a crucial role as bio-indicators of environmental changes in their ecosystem and their parasite populations can act as markers of environmental health since changes in their population may be related to changes in the quality of their environment. Therefore, this study was carried out to explore the anurans’ diversity and their gastrointestinal helminths parasites within the University of Ibadan campus in order to ascertain the richness of the in the environment. A total of 225 anurans were captured using a combination of live capture sampling techniques and auditory-visual methods from four sampling locations within University of Ibadan, namely- Awba Dam, Heritage Park, Awba-Stream, and Ona River. The collected anurans were identified and examined for gastrointestinal parasites using standard protocols. Five anuran species; Sclerophrys maculate, S. pusilla, S. regularis, S. steindachneri and Bufo bufo were encountered and all were infected with parasites. Cephaloclamys compactus, Aplectana chamaeleonis and Ophidascaris (Trematoda), Pharyngodon and Kalicephalus (Nematoda) and Acanthocephalus bufonis (Acanthocephalan) were identified parasites. Ona River had the highest anuran diversity having all the five encountered amphibians. This study has provided valuable insight to anurans diversity including prevalence and intensity of their parasite.

Response of phytoplankton to seasonal changes in some water quality parameters in Anyim River, Ebonyi State, Southeast, Nigeria

A.J. Nwinyimagu — 2024-12-29

Anyim River is an important tributary of Cross River that provides water for various purposes to some rural communities in Ebonyi, Benue and Cross River states of Nigeria. However, the river is polluted from anthropogenic and naturogenic sources, which is worrisome. This study assesses the responses of the phytoplankton community to changes in water quality as a preliminary step toward mitigating pollution of the river. Water and plankton samples were collected bimonthly from November, 2017 to September, 2019 and then analysed in the laboratory following standard procedures. The results showed that mean water temperature (29.97±2.34^oC), total dissolved solids (28.00±4.21mg/L), conductivity (50.00±5.28µS/cm), carbon (iv) oxide (8.63±1.10mg/L) and transparency (0.19±0.12m) were higher in the dry season. All the water quality parameters varied significantly (p<0.05) between seasons except dissolved oxygen, nitrate and transparency. Cyanophyta (487 cells/L) was the most abundant phytoplankton during the dry season while Bacillariophyta had the highest diversity (Hʹ=1.84) and species richness (d=2.53) in the wet season. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that pH, transparency, nitrate and phosphate favoured the abundance and diversity of Bacillariophyta and Cyanophyta during dry season. The dominance of Cyanophyta in dry season was an indication of poor water quality.

Ectoparasites of Streptopelia senegalensis Linnaeus, 1766 (laughing dove) and Columba livia domestica Gmelin, 1789 (domestic pigeon) in Zaria, Nigeria

J. Hamza — 2024-12-29

Seventy-one (71) each of Streptopelia senegalensis and Columba livia domestica were collected from the wild and the market, and examined for ectoparasites. The result showed that 7(9.86%) S. senegalensis and 43(60.56%) C. livia domestica were infested with ectoparasites. Streptopelia senegalensis was infested by two species, Goniodes species (7.04%) and Columbicola columbae (2.82%) while C. livia domestica was infested by three species, Goniodes sp. (25.35%), Columbicola columbae (19.72%) and Pseudolynchia canariensis (11.27%). Streptopelia senegalensis had ectoparasite prevalence of 5.63% and 4.23% in the wet and dry seasons, respectively while C. livia domestica had prevalence of 29.58% and 30.99% in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. Males of S. senegalensis and C. livia domestica had respective ectoparasite prevalence of 7.32% and 22.54%, while the females had prevalences of 13.33% and 38.04%, respectively. The weight of the birds did not appear to influence parasite prevalence in either the wet or the dry season. The prevalences of parasite infestation of C. livia domestica were significantly higher than those of S. senegalensis p<0.05. The market or home cages of the domestic pigeons should be cleaned routinely to minimize reinfestation by ectoparasites.

Animal Tungiasis in the endemic areas of Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State, Southwestern Nigeria

T.S. Olusegun-Joseph — 2024-12-29

Tungiasis is prevalent in many resource-poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa though poorly studied. Tungiasis in animals increases greater parasitic load in humans. Households across 18 endemic communities of Badagry Local Government Area, Lagos State were surveyed. Clinical examination of 1020 animals owned by the 188 sampled households was carried out by inspection of their bodies for the characteristic lesions. Intensity of the Tunga infestation were classified as light, moderate and heavy. The lesions were also staged based on Fortaleza Classification and extracted with the owners' permission. Out of 1020 animals sampled, including 492 and 528 during the wet and dry seasons, respectively, the total prevalence of tungiasis infestation was 47 (4.6%) for both seasons. Dogs 25 (53.2%) were the commonest infected animal encountered. Infected animals were significantly (p=0.03) in the dry season 29(5.5%) compared to the wet season 18(3.7%). The embedded fleas were mostly located around the eyes and ears of the animals. Out of the infested animals, 55.3% had light infestation and severity of the infection were more in the dry season, however the difference was not significant (p>0.05). Reducing its zoonotic potentials requires removing obstacles to its management. The One Health principles should be followed for effective management.

Gastrointestinal parasites of Camelus dromedaries in Sokoto, northwest Nigeria

S.A. Mamman — 2024-12-29

Gastrointestinal parasitic infections in camels are usually asymptomatic, thus goes unnoticed and untreated for a long period of time, often resulting in other serious health complications. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to September, 2021 in Sokoto Central Abattoir to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors for gastrointestinal parasites in camels. Faecal samples were collected from the rectum of 300 camels and examined by the floatation and sedimentation techniques. Gastrointestinal (GIT) parasite eggs were identified by microscopic examination in comparison to standard keys. Overall, 194 out of the 300 (64.66%) faecal samples harboured at least one parasite. The majority of parasite eggs detected were nematodes (76.0%) followed by protozoan (14.0%), cestodes (10.7%) and trematodes (3.3%). Strongyle spp. (37.33%), Trichomera spp. (19.33%) and Trichuris spp. (13.33%) were the most frequently encountered parasites. The differences in occurrence of parasites across sex, age, body condition and breed of the camels were not statistically significant (p>0.05). The need for awareness campaigns to camel owners and mass chemoprophylaxis exercise cannot be overemphasized. Government and private sector collaborations will have a wider coverage area and make a lot of impacts.