Morphological characterization of the blood cells in the endangered Sicilian endemic pond turtle,<i>Emys trinacris</i>(Testudines: Emydidae)

Arizza, Vincenzo; Russo, Debora; Marrone, Federico; Sacco, Francesco; Arculeo, Marco

doi:10.1080/11250003.2014.938371

Cited by 12 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…The cells are slightly bigger, with a nucleus confined to a cell pole or adhering to the membrane. Normal morphometric values of erythrocytes in E. trinacris were studied by Arizza et al (2014). In the present study, all morphometric values for the infected erythrocytes were within the ranges reported by Arizza et al (2014) except EW and ES, which were slightly smaller than in the uninfected turtles.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…Blood smears were prepared in situ according to Arizza et al (2014). A blood drop was smeared on a glass slide and airdried.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The blood cell types were identified and counted according to Arizza et al (2014). Haematological and parasite variables (number or sizes) were summarised as the mean, standard deviation (SD), standard error of the mean (SE), and range.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The good, the bad and the ugly: Emys trinacris, Placobdella costata and Haemogregarina stepanowi in Sicily (Testudines, Annelida and Apicomplexa)

Arizza¹,

Sacco²,

Russo³

et al. 2016

FOLIA PARASIT

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Endemic Sicilian pond turtles Emys trinacris Fritz, Fattizzo, Guicking, Tripepi, Pennisi, Lenk, Joger et Wink were examined for the presence of haemogregarine parasites. The presence of haemogregarines, occurring mainly in the microgametocyte stage (13.2 ± 0.12 μm in length and 6.4 ± 0.52 μm in width), was observed in approximately 9% of the sampled E. trinacris. Based on the observed morphology and on the sequencing of nuclear 18S rDNA, we identified the parasite as Haemogregarina stepanowi Danilewsky, 1885. Morphometric study of uninfected and infected red blood cells has shown that H. stepanowi induces different changes in erythrocyte shape depending on the infective stage. The differential count of leukocytes in specimens infected with H. stepanowi showed no significant difference compared with healthy specimens. However, considering the health problems which might be induced by H. stepanowi in the closely related European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (Linneaus), monitoring of the health status of the infected Sicilian populations of E. trinacris is desirable. The restricted distribution of populations of Emys infected with haemogregarines in Sicily is quite puzzling and the possible human-mediated introduction of the parasite in Sicily is briefly discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…Blood smears were prepared in situ according to Arizza et al (2014). A blood drop was smeared on a glass slide and airdried.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The good, the bad and the ugly: Emys trinacris, Placobdella costata and Haemogregarina stepanowi in Sicily (Testudines, Annelida and Apicomplexa)

Arizza¹,

Sacco²,

Russo³

et al. 2016

FOLIA PARASIT

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“…Sampling activities were carried out in 14 sites in Sicily, southern Italy and Tunisia (Table 1, Fig. 1; see also: Arizza et al 2014;Stuckas et al 2014;Vamberger et al 2015). Pond turtles were captured by hand or with the use of baited traps left overnight in concealed sites.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Some like it cold: the glossiphoniid parasites of the Sicilian endemic pond turtleEmys trinacris(Testudines, Emydidae), an example of ‘parasite inertia’?

Marrone

Sacco

Kehlmaier³

et al. 2016

J Zool Syst Evol Res

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The freshwater turtles of the genus Emys and some leech species of the family Glossiphoniidae are the only Palaearctic representatives of primarily Nearctic taxa, which jointly colonized Eurasia and the Maghreb during the Miocene. The strict trophic relationships occurring between the glossiphoniid parasite leech Placobdella costata and its host, the emydid Emys orbicularis, make them a prime example of host–parasite cophylogenetic evolution. In the light of the discovery of the Sicilian cryptic endemic species Emys trinacris, which is the sister species to the widespread Palaearctic E. orbicularis, the possible cophylogenetic divergence of the turtle hosts and their leech parasites was investigated. In spite of the deep divergence scored between the two pond turtle species and of their allopatric distribution, their leech parasites proved to be conspecific and indistinguishable based on the implemented molecular marker. This unexpected decoupling might likely be ascribed to the different dispersal abilities of the two taxa and/or to the recent, human‐mediated introduction of the leech parasites in Sicily. If this last scenario is confirmed, the long‐term effects of the introduced leech parasite on the endemic Sicilian pond turtle Emys trinacris should be carefully monitored. In the frame of this study, representatives of the widely spread predatory leech Helobdella stagnalis were observed on E. trinacris. Molecular analyses of their stomach content allowed to rule out the possibility of the existence of a trophic relationships between these two taxa, in contrast to what was previously suspected, and suggest that H. stagnalis specimens were rather attached to the turtles for non‐nutritional reasons.

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“…In contrast, the differentiation of E. trinacris suggests long presence of turtles in the respective regions of Sicily, most probably with few dispersal events during the Holocene. In any case, the observed differentiation within E. trinacris, which is an endangered species (Turrisi & Vaccaro 1997;Arizza et al 2014), argues for great care when translocation of turtles should be considered as a means for conservation. Without genetic testing before selecting turtles for translocation within Sicily, such actions could contribute to the loss of local genetic differentiation and should be avoided.…”

Section: Conclusion and Implications For Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in gene flow in a twofold secondary contact zone of pond turtles in southern Italy (Testudines: Emydidae:Emys orbicularis galloitalica,E. o. hellenica,E. trinacris)

et al. 2015

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Using virtually range-wide sampling for three pond turtle taxa (Emys orbicularis galloitalica,\ud E. o. hellenica, E. trinacris), we analyse gene flow across their southern Italian contact zone.\ud Based on population genetic analyses of 15 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci and a\ud mitochondrial marker, we show that the general genetic pattern matches well with the current\ud taxon delimitation. Yet, single individuals with conflicting genetic identity suggest\ud translocation of turtles by humans. In addition, we identify in south-western France and the\ud vicinity of Rome populations being heavily impacted by introduced turtles. Cline analyses\ud reveal that the major genetic break between E. o. galloitalica and E. o. hellenica corresponds\ud well with the currently accepted intergradation zone in southern Italy. However, introgression\ud is largely unidirectional from E. o. galloitalica into E. o. hellenica. In the distribution\ud range of the latter subspecies, genetic footprints of E. o. galloitalica are evident along most\ud of the Italian east coast. Our results corroborate that E. o. galloitalica was introduced long\ud ago in Corsica and Sardinia and naturalized there. Gene flow between E. orbicularis and\ud E. trinacris is negligible, with the Strait of Messina matching well with the narrow cline centre\ud between the two species. This contrasts with other Mediterranean freshwater turtle species\ud with extensive transoceanic gene flow. Compared to the two subspecies of E. orbicularis,\ud the Sicilian E. trinacris shows an unexpectedly strong population structuring, a finding\ud also of some relevance for conservation. The differences between the two taxon pairs\ud E. orbicularis/E. trinacris and E. o. galloitalica/E. o. hellenica support their current taxonomic\ud classification and make them attractive objects for follow-up studies to elucidate the\ud underlying mechanisms of speciation by comparing their propertie

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Morphological characterization of the blood cells in the endangered Sicilian endemic pond turtle,Emys trinacris(Testudines: Emydidae)

Cited by 12 publications

References 49 publications

The good, the bad and the ugly: Emys trinacris, Placobdella costata and Haemogregarina stepanowi in Sicily (Testudines, Annelida and Apicomplexa)

The good, the bad and the ugly: Emys trinacris, Placobdella costata and Haemogregarina stepanowi in Sicily (Testudines, Annelida and Apicomplexa)

Some like it cold: the glossiphoniid parasites of the Sicilian endemic pond turtleEmys trinacris(Testudines, Emydidae), an example of ‘parasite inertia’?

Differences in gene flow in a twofold secondary contact zone of pond turtles in southern Italy (Testudines: Emydidae:Emys orbicularis galloitalica,E. o. hellenica,E. trinacris)

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