Baseline monitoring of contaminant concentrations in American lobster (Homarus americanus) tissues from coastal Northumberland Strait, Nova Scotia, Canada.

A baseline survey was conducted in 2018 to characterize contaminants in American lobsters, Homarus americanus in the Northumberland Strait, Canada. Sampling included three age classes of lobsters at sites 4, 20, and 70 km from the Boat Harbour estuary, a historically contaminated site set to undergo remediation. Lobster tissues were measured for metal(loids), methylmercury, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-furans.

Effect of Animal Stocking Density and Habitat Enrichment on Survival and Vitality of Wild Green Shore Crabs, Maintained in the Laboratory.

The wide geographic distribution, large size and ease of capture has led to decapod crustaceans being used extensively in laboratory experiments. Recently in the United Kingdom decapod crustaceans were listed as sentient beings, resulting in their inclusion in animal care protocols. Ironically, little is known about how captive conditions affect the survival and general condition of wild decapod crustaceans.

(Epi)genomic adaptation driven by fine geographical scale environmental heterogeneity after recent biological invasions.

Elucidating processes and mechanisms involved in rapid local adaptation to varied environments is a poorly understood but crucial component in management of invasive species. Recent studies have proposed that genetic and epigenetic variation could both contribute to ecological adaptation, yet it remains unclear on the interplay between these two components underpinning rapid adaptation in wild animal populations. To assess their respective contributions to local adaptation, we explored epigenomic and genomic responses to environmental heterogeneity in eight recently colonized ascidian (Ciona intestinalis) populations at a relatively fine geographical scale.

Identification of miracidia attractant candidates in infected using behaviour-guided comparative proteomics.

Schistosomiasis, caused by infection with digenetic trematodes, is one of the deadliest neglected tropical diseases in the world. The lifecycle involves the miracidial infection of an intermediate freshwater snail host, such as . Dispersing snail host-derived miracidia attractants has been considered a method of minimising intermediate host infections and, by extension, human schistosomiasis.

Identification of Putative Neuropeptides That Alter the Behaviour of Cercariae.

Elucidating the infectivity of , one of the main etiological agents of human schistosomiasis, requires an improved understanding of the behavioural mechanisms of cercariae, the non-feeding mammalian infective stage. This study investigated the presence and effect of cercariae-derived putative neuropeptides on cercarial behaviour when applied externally. Cercariae were peptidomically analysed and 11 neuropeptide precursor proteins, all of which were specific to the genus and most of which highly expressed in the cercarial stage, were identified in cercariae for the first time.