Had previous studies Connected Nematodes with the skin of a manatee. one in 2011 The “unusual” long-tailed “two-sided” nematode Cutidiplogaster manati was found in the skin pests of manatees in the West Indies in an aquarium in Okinawa, Japan. This piqued the interest of these authors who had hoped to learn more about C. Manati. In 2013, they began collecting samples from Florida manatees at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, and the project became Mr. Gonzalez’s master’s thesis.
The team found what was likely C. manati – and two other nematodes.
Mr Gonzalez, who worked with the researchers who conducted an annual manatee health assessment, collected dead skin from the tails of Among seven mammals in 2018 and another seven in 2019. Mr Gonzales said the collection process was similar to scratching a human back, and the animals were quickly returned to the water to relieve stress.
The samples were examined under a microscope, then the DNA was extracted. Study author: Robin Giblin Davis, a recently retired worm pathologist and co-author from the University of Florida. The team believes C. Manati Another species, a previously unknown species they called “Long Tail”, can use their long tails to anchor themselves in waves.
“I think it’s easy to say that these are new species,” said Adler Dillman, an associate professor at the University of California at Riverside who was not involved in the study. .
The study suggests that nematodes are particularly well suited to thriving in these delicate, degraded landscapes, where the structures on the skin are about as tall as the height of trees in humans. All three manatees were found in all of the manatees sampled in 2018 and 2019, but no skin lesions were found. The authors concluded that nematodes are unlikely to harm their hosts. You may have suggested that it is spread among manatees like human skin mites.
The researchers are currently hoping to arouse more enthusiasm for nematodes and gentle manatee hosts.
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