Australian Ants Hosting Parasitic Nematodes: Developmental and Physiological Interactions

Volume 2- Issue 5

Michael Downes*

Received: May 07, 2018;   Published: May 16, 2018

DOI: 10.32474/CIACR.2018.02.000146

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Abstract

Nematodes were found in ants Polyrhachis iona and P. graeffei from the wet tropics of North Queensland. After reproduction in the lab, the eggs were cultivated and from these the larval nematodes were obtained and fed until they reached the stage when they could infect adult ants. The life cycle of the nematodes is described. Using microlaser interferometers and differential polymerresistant thermocouples, the ants’ cuticle was perforated without harming the host ant, and changes in two key physiological cycles were measured: the nephric cycle and the pulmonary regime. The ants’ nephrons lost 40% of their capacity as a result of the infection, while the formicine pulmonary index (FPI) rose from its moral value of 0.205 to 0.377.

Abstract| Introduction| Methods| Results| Discussion| Acknowledgement| References|