African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12487

Full Length Research Paper

Seasonal growth of the attachment clamps of a Paradiplozoon sp. as depicted by statistical shape analysis

  Milne, S. J.1,2ѱ* and Avenant-Oldewage, A.1
  1Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa. 2School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa. ѱPresent address: Pathology Division, National Institute for Occupational Health, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 15 December 2011
  •  Published: 31 January 2012

Abstract

 

Geometric morphometric methods using computer software is a more statistically powerful method of assessing changes in the anatomy than are traditional measurements of lengths. The aim of the study was to investigate whether changes in the size and shape Paradiplozoon sp. permanent attachment clamps could be used to determine the duration of the organsism’s life-cycle in situ. A total of 149 adultParadiplozoon sp. ectoparasites were recovered from Labeobarbus aeneus andLabeobarbus kimberlyensis in the Vaal Dam. The software tool tpsDIG v.2.1 was used on six digitised landmarks placed at the junctures between the sclerites of the attachment clamps from digital micrographs. The tpsSmall v. 2.0 and Morphologika2v. 2.5 software tools were used to perform principal component analysis (PCA) on this multivariate dataset. The PCA analysis indicated that the increase in size and linear change in shape of the selected landmarks, were significant predictors of the sampling season. This study suggests that it takes one year for the permanent attachment clamps of a Paradiplozoon sp. to grow to their maximum size in the Vaal Dam.

 

Key words: Diplozoidae, Labeobarbus aeneus, Labeobarbus kimberlyensis, Vaal Dam, morphometrics.

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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