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Jean A Pare - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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molecular characterization of reptile pathogens currently known as members of the chrysosporium anamorph of nannizziopsis vriesii complex and relationship with some human associated isolates
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2013Co-Authors: Lynne Sigler, Sarah Hambleton, Jean A PareAbstract:ABSTRACT In recent years, the Chrysosporium anamorph of Nannizziopsis vriesii (CANV), Chrysosporium guarroi, Chrysosporium ophiodiicola, and Chrysosporium species have been reported as the causes of dermal or deep lesions in Reptiles. These infections are contagious and often fatal and affect both captive and wild animals. Forty-nine CANV isolates from Reptiles and six isolates from human sources were compared with N. vriesii based on their cultural characteristics and DNA sequence data. Analyses of the sequences of the internal transcribed spacer and small subunit of the nuclear ribosomal gene revealed that the reptile pathogens and human isolates belong in well-supported clades corresponding to three lineages that are distinct from all other taxa within the family Onygenaceae of the order Onygenales. One lineage represents the genus Nannizziopsis and comprises N. vriesii, N. guarroi, and six additional species encompassing isolates from chameleons and geckos, crocodiles, agamid and iguanid lizards, and humans. Two other lineages comprise the genus Ophidiomyces, with the species Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola occurring only in snakes, and Paranannizziopsis gen. nov., with three new species infecting squamates and tuataras. The newly described species are Nannizziopsis dermatitidis, Nannizziopsis crocodili, Nannizziopsis barbata, Nannizziopsis infrequens, Nannizziopsis hominis, Nannizziopsis obscura, Paranannizziopsis australasiensis, Paranannizziopsis californiensis, and Paranannizziopsis crustacea. Chrysosporium longisporum has been reclassified as Paranannizziopsis longispora. N. guarroi causes yellow fungus disease, a common infection in bearded dragons and green iguanas, and O. ophiodiicola is an emerging pathogen of captive and wild snakes. Human-associated species were not recovered from Reptiles, and reptile-associated species were recovered only from Reptiles, thereby mitigating concerns related to zoonosis.
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an overview of pentastomiasis in Reptiles and other vertebrates
Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, 2008Co-Authors: Jean A PareAbstract:Abstract Pentastomes are wormlike arthropods uniquely adapted to an obligate endoparasitic lifestyle in the respiratory tract of terrestrial vertebrates. The overwhelming majority of pentastome species infect the lungs of Reptiles. The life cycle of these arthropods usually involves at least one intermediate host. Pentastomes carry zoonotic potential, but among those parasitizing Reptiles only Armillifer spp. have been unquestionably associated with accidental human infections. Recent evidence suggests that pentastomes are crustaceans closely related to branchiurans, therefore therapeutic agents targeting fish lice should be investigated for their use in treating pentastome-infected reptile patients.
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cutaneous mycobiota of captive squamate Reptiles with notes on the scarcity of chrysosporium anamorph of nannizziopsis vriesii
Journal of herpetological medicine and surgery, 2003Co-Authors: Jean A Pare, Lynne Sigler, Krystal L Rypien, Conniefe C GibasAbstract:ABSTRACT The Chrysosporium anamorph of Nannizziopsis vriesii (CANV) is a fungus that has been implicated in several recent cases of reptile dermatomycoses. A survey was conducted to investigate whether this fungus was present on the skins of healthy squamate Reptiles. Skin was collected as aseptically as possible from actively shedding lizards (n = 36) or from freshly shed snake exuvia (n = 91) and placed on fungal culture media for selective recovery of cycloheximide-tolerant fungi. The CANV was cultured from only one animal, an African rock python, Python sebae. Fungi belonging to 50 genera were identified from 127 Reptiles: Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., and Paecilomyces lilacinus were most frequently isolated. Keratinophilic fungi isolated from Reptiles did not belong to zoophilic or anthropophilic species, inferring that the potential for acquisition of dermatophytosis from handling squamate Reptiles is low.
Laurent Chirio - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation
Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2017Co-Authors: Monika Böhm, Uri Roll, Anat Feldman, Maria Novosolov, Allen Allison, Aaron M Bauer, Rodolphe Bernard, Fernando Castroherrera, Laurent ChirioAbstract:The distributions of amphibians, birds and mammals have underpinned global and local conservation priorities, and have been fundamental to our understanding of the determinants of global biodiversity. In contrast, the global distributions of Reptiles, representing a third of terrestrial vertebrate diversity, have been unavailable. This prevented the incorporation of Reptiles into conservation planning and biased our understanding of the underlying processes governing global vertebrate biodiversity. Here, we present and analyse the global distribution of 10,064 reptile species (99% of extant terrestrial species). We show that richness patterns of the other three tetrapod classes are good spatial surrogates for species richness of all Reptiles combined and of snakes, but characterize diversity patterns of lizards and turtles poorly. Hotspots of total and endemic lizard richness overlap very little with those of other taxa. Moreover, existing protected areas, sites of biodiversity significance and global conservation schemes represent birds and mammals better than Reptiles. We show that additional conservation actions are needed to effectively protect Reptiles, particularly lizards and turtles. Adding reptile knowledge to a global complementarity conservation priority scheme identifies many locations that consequently become important. Notably, investing resources in some of the world’s arid, grassland and savannah habitats might be necessary to represent all terrestrial vertebrates efficiently.
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patterns of species richness endemism and environmental gradients of african Reptiles
Journal of Biogeography, 2016Co-Authors: Amir Lewin, Anat Feldman, Aaron M Bauer, Laurent Chirio, Jonathan Belmaker, Donald G Broadley, Yuval Itescu, Matthew Lebreton, Erez Maza, Danny MeirteAbstract:Aim To map and assess the richness patterns of Reptiles (and included groups: amphisbaenians, crocodiles, lizards, snakes and turtles) in Africa, quantify the overlap in species richness of Reptiles (and included groups) with the other terrestrial vertebrate classes, investigate the environmental correlates underlying these patterns, and evaluate the role of range size on richness patterns. Location Africa. Methods We assembled a data set of distributions of all African reptile species. We tested the spatial congruence of reptile richness with that of amphibians, birds and mammals. We further tested the relative importance of temperature, precipitation, elevation range and net primary productivity for species richness over two spatial scales (ecoregions and 1° grids). We arranged reptile and vertebrate groups into range-size quartiles in order to evaluate the role of range size in producing richness patterns. Results Reptile, amphibian, bird and mammal richness are largely congruent (r = 0.79–0.86) and respond similarly to environmental variables (mainly productivity and precipitation). Ecoregion size accounts for more variation in the richness of Reptiles than in that of other groups. Lizard distributions are distinct with several areas of high species richness where other vertebrate groups (including snakes) are species-poor, especially in arid ecoregions. Habitat heterogeneity is the best predictor of narrow-ranging species, but remains relatively important in explaining lizard richness even for species with large range sizes. Main conclusions Reptile richness varies with similar environmental variables as the other vertebrates in Africa, reflecting the disproportionate influence of snakes on reptile richness, a result of their large ranges. Richness gradients of narrow-ranged vertebrates differ from those of widespread taxa, which may demonstrate different centres of endemism for reptile subclades in Africa. Lizard richness varies mostly with habitat heterogeneity independent of range size, which suggests that the difference in response of lizards is due to their ecological characteristics. These results, over two spatial scales and multiple range-size quartiles, allow us to reliably interpret the influence of environmental variables on patterns of reptile richness and congruency.
Uri Roll - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation
Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2017Co-Authors: Monika Böhm, Uri Roll, Anat Feldman, Maria Novosolov, Allen Allison, Aaron M Bauer, Rodolphe Bernard, Fernando Castroherrera, Laurent ChirioAbstract:The distributions of amphibians, birds and mammals have underpinned global and local conservation priorities, and have been fundamental to our understanding of the determinants of global biodiversity. In contrast, the global distributions of Reptiles, representing a third of terrestrial vertebrate diversity, have been unavailable. This prevented the incorporation of Reptiles into conservation planning and biased our understanding of the underlying processes governing global vertebrate biodiversity. Here, we present and analyse the global distribution of 10,064 reptile species (99% of extant terrestrial species). We show that richness patterns of the other three tetrapod classes are good spatial surrogates for species richness of all Reptiles combined and of snakes, but characterize diversity patterns of lizards and turtles poorly. Hotspots of total and endemic lizard richness overlap very little with those of other taxa. Moreover, existing protected areas, sites of biodiversity significance and global conservation schemes represent birds and mammals better than Reptiles. We show that additional conservation actions are needed to effectively protect Reptiles, particularly lizards and turtles. Adding reptile knowledge to a global complementarity conservation priority scheme identifies many locations that consequently become important. Notably, investing resources in some of the world’s arid, grassland and savannah habitats might be necessary to represent all terrestrial vertebrates efficiently.
Aaron M Bauer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation
Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2017Co-Authors: Monika Böhm, Uri Roll, Anat Feldman, Maria Novosolov, Allen Allison, Aaron M Bauer, Rodolphe Bernard, Fernando Castroherrera, Laurent ChirioAbstract:The distributions of amphibians, birds and mammals have underpinned global and local conservation priorities, and have been fundamental to our understanding of the determinants of global biodiversity. In contrast, the global distributions of Reptiles, representing a third of terrestrial vertebrate diversity, have been unavailable. This prevented the incorporation of Reptiles into conservation planning and biased our understanding of the underlying processes governing global vertebrate biodiversity. Here, we present and analyse the global distribution of 10,064 reptile species (99% of extant terrestrial species). We show that richness patterns of the other three tetrapod classes are good spatial surrogates for species richness of all Reptiles combined and of snakes, but characterize diversity patterns of lizards and turtles poorly. Hotspots of total and endemic lizard richness overlap very little with those of other taxa. Moreover, existing protected areas, sites of biodiversity significance and global conservation schemes represent birds and mammals better than Reptiles. We show that additional conservation actions are needed to effectively protect Reptiles, particularly lizards and turtles. Adding reptile knowledge to a global complementarity conservation priority scheme identifies many locations that consequently become important. Notably, investing resources in some of the world’s arid, grassland and savannah habitats might be necessary to represent all terrestrial vertebrates efficiently.
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patterns of species richness endemism and environmental gradients of african Reptiles
Journal of Biogeography, 2016Co-Authors: Amir Lewin, Anat Feldman, Aaron M Bauer, Laurent Chirio, Jonathan Belmaker, Donald G Broadley, Yuval Itescu, Matthew Lebreton, Erez Maza, Danny MeirteAbstract:Aim To map and assess the richness patterns of Reptiles (and included groups: amphisbaenians, crocodiles, lizards, snakes and turtles) in Africa, quantify the overlap in species richness of Reptiles (and included groups) with the other terrestrial vertebrate classes, investigate the environmental correlates underlying these patterns, and evaluate the role of range size on richness patterns. Location Africa. Methods We assembled a data set of distributions of all African reptile species. We tested the spatial congruence of reptile richness with that of amphibians, birds and mammals. We further tested the relative importance of temperature, precipitation, elevation range and net primary productivity for species richness over two spatial scales (ecoregions and 1° grids). We arranged reptile and vertebrate groups into range-size quartiles in order to evaluate the role of range size in producing richness patterns. Results Reptile, amphibian, bird and mammal richness are largely congruent (r = 0.79–0.86) and respond similarly to environmental variables (mainly productivity and precipitation). Ecoregion size accounts for more variation in the richness of Reptiles than in that of other groups. Lizard distributions are distinct with several areas of high species richness where other vertebrate groups (including snakes) are species-poor, especially in arid ecoregions. Habitat heterogeneity is the best predictor of narrow-ranging species, but remains relatively important in explaining lizard richness even for species with large range sizes. Main conclusions Reptile richness varies with similar environmental variables as the other vertebrates in Africa, reflecting the disproportionate influence of snakes on reptile richness, a result of their large ranges. Richness gradients of narrow-ranged vertebrates differ from those of widespread taxa, which may demonstrate different centres of endemism for reptile subclades in Africa. Lizard richness varies mostly with habitat heterogeneity independent of range size, which suggests that the difference in response of lizards is due to their ecological characteristics. These results, over two spatial scales and multiple range-size quartiles, allow us to reliably interpret the influence of environmental variables on patterns of reptile richness and congruency.
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global taxonomic diversity of living Reptiles
PLOS ONE, 2013Co-Authors: Daniel Pincheiradonoso, Aaron M Bauer, Shai Meiri, Peter UetzAbstract:Reptiles are one of the most ecologically and evolutionarily remarkable groups of living organisms, having successfully colonized most of the planet, including the oceans and some of the harshest and more environmentally unstable ecosystems on earth. Here, based on a complete dataset of all the world’s diversity of living Reptiles, we analyse lineage taxonomic richness both within and among clades, at different levels of the phylogenetic hierarchy. We also analyse the historical tendencies in the descriptions of new reptile species from Linnaeus to March 2012. Although (non-avian) Reptiles are the second most species-rich group of amniotes after birds, most of their diversity (96.3%) is concentrated in squamates (59% lizards, 35% snakes, and 2% amphisbaenians). In strong contrast, turtles (3.4%), crocodilians (0.3%), and tuataras (0.01%) are far less diverse. In terms of species discoveries, most turtles and crocodilians were described early, while descriptions of lizards, snakes and amphisbaenians are multimodal with respect to time. Lizard descriptions, in particular, have reached unprecedented levels during the last decade. Finally, despite such remarkably asymmetric distributions of reptile taxonomic diversity among groups, we found that the distributions of lineage richness are consistently right-skewed, with most clades (monophyletic families and genera) containing few lineages (monophyletic genera and species, respectively), while only a few have radiated greatly (notably the families Colubridae and Scincidae, and the lizard genera Anolis and Liolaemus). Therefore, such consistency in the frequency distribution of richness among clades and among phylogenetic levels suggests that the nature of reptile biodiversity is fundamentally fractal (i.e., it is scale invariant). We then compared current reptile diversity with the global reptile diversity and taxonomy known in 1980. Despite substantial differences in the taxonomies (relative to 2012), the patterns of lineage richness remain qualitatively identical, hence reinforcing our conclusions about the fractal nature of reptile biodiversity.
Lynne Sigler - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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molecular characterization of reptile pathogens currently known as members of the chrysosporium anamorph of nannizziopsis vriesii complex and relationship with some human associated isolates
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2013Co-Authors: Lynne Sigler, Sarah Hambleton, Jean A PareAbstract:ABSTRACT In recent years, the Chrysosporium anamorph of Nannizziopsis vriesii (CANV), Chrysosporium guarroi, Chrysosporium ophiodiicola, and Chrysosporium species have been reported as the causes of dermal or deep lesions in Reptiles. These infections are contagious and often fatal and affect both captive and wild animals. Forty-nine CANV isolates from Reptiles and six isolates from human sources were compared with N. vriesii based on their cultural characteristics and DNA sequence data. Analyses of the sequences of the internal transcribed spacer and small subunit of the nuclear ribosomal gene revealed that the reptile pathogens and human isolates belong in well-supported clades corresponding to three lineages that are distinct from all other taxa within the family Onygenaceae of the order Onygenales. One lineage represents the genus Nannizziopsis and comprises N. vriesii, N. guarroi, and six additional species encompassing isolates from chameleons and geckos, crocodiles, agamid and iguanid lizards, and humans. Two other lineages comprise the genus Ophidiomyces, with the species Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola occurring only in snakes, and Paranannizziopsis gen. nov., with three new species infecting squamates and tuataras. The newly described species are Nannizziopsis dermatitidis, Nannizziopsis crocodili, Nannizziopsis barbata, Nannizziopsis infrequens, Nannizziopsis hominis, Nannizziopsis obscura, Paranannizziopsis australasiensis, Paranannizziopsis californiensis, and Paranannizziopsis crustacea. Chrysosporium longisporum has been reclassified as Paranannizziopsis longispora. N. guarroi causes yellow fungus disease, a common infection in bearded dragons and green iguanas, and O. ophiodiicola is an emerging pathogen of captive and wild snakes. Human-associated species were not recovered from Reptiles, and reptile-associated species were recovered only from Reptiles, thereby mitigating concerns related to zoonosis.
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cutaneous mycobiota of captive squamate Reptiles with notes on the scarcity of chrysosporium anamorph of nannizziopsis vriesii
Journal of herpetological medicine and surgery, 2003Co-Authors: Jean A Pare, Lynne Sigler, Krystal L Rypien, Conniefe C GibasAbstract:ABSTRACT The Chrysosporium anamorph of Nannizziopsis vriesii (CANV) is a fungus that has been implicated in several recent cases of reptile dermatomycoses. A survey was conducted to investigate whether this fungus was present on the skins of healthy squamate Reptiles. Skin was collected as aseptically as possible from actively shedding lizards (n = 36) or from freshly shed snake exuvia (n = 91) and placed on fungal culture media for selective recovery of cycloheximide-tolerant fungi. The CANV was cultured from only one animal, an African rock python, Python sebae. Fungi belonging to 50 genera were identified from 127 Reptiles: Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., and Paecilomyces lilacinus were most frequently isolated. Keratinophilic fungi isolated from Reptiles did not belong to zoophilic or anthropophilic species, inferring that the potential for acquisition of dermatophytosis from handling squamate Reptiles is low.