Abstract:The process of weaning in primates means that infants start acquiring nutrition independently, it also reflects the regulation of female reproduction and the adaptive mechanism of weaning behavior under specific environmental conditions. To understand the weaning process and their influencing factors in Black Snub-nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) infants, we observed a group of infants aged 1 to 26 months living in Mt. Lasha, within Yunling Provicial Nature Reserve, Lanping, Yunnan, China, from May 2008 to April 2010. Using the 10-minutes scan sampling method, we analyzed the behavioral development of the infants monkeys as indicated by their activity time distribution and parental care (body contact and distance), and determined the weaning process pattern. During the first 12 months of age, infants were in physical contact with adult females for almost half of the daytime (49.59%), mostly being carried (47.07%). The feeding time of was 8.45%, and the grooming time for other individuals was 0.09%. Between 13 to 17 months of age, the average time of parental care (physical contact) by adult females decreased to 19.62% (carrying 4.74%), while feeding time more than doubled (22.06%), and grooming time for other individuals increased slightly (0.96%). Between 18 to 26 months, infants spent less time in direct contact with adult females (17.18%, carrying 0.82%), while feeding and grooming with other individuals kept increasing (38.48% and 1.39%, respectively). Based on behavioral development of infants and adult females’ care decreased, we determined that the weaning process of R. bieti infants happened between their 13th and 17th months of age. This period corresponded with the season where high-quality food was available, favorizing the adaptation and survival of the newly independent infants, as well as boosting the recovery of mothers to support the next generation. These findings suggest that the weaning of R. bieti infants is mainly regulated by adult females’ care and food availability.

Abstract:Here, we used male Least Horseshoe Bats, Rhinolophus pusillus, to assess the change of colony size as well as the potential determinants throughout the summer. We used an infrared thermal imager to monitor the colony size of the bats inhabiting in a disused military fortification during June and August (Fig. 1). We applied one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the general linear regression model to test the monthly variation of colony size as well as to determinate relationship between bat colony size and microclimatic conditions in the cave. Analyses revealed that R. pusillus exhibited a marked increase in colony size from June to August (Fig. 2). The coefficient of variation in bat colony size was higher in June than that in July and August. The bat colony sizes were significant positive associations with ambient temperature, relative humidity in the cave (Fig. 3). These results highlight that microclimatic factors inside the cave affect the colony size of R. pusillus. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for roost conservation and management in wild bats.

Abstract:From April to December in 2015, the Wenbi Mountain was taken as the sample area in the core area of Yulong plague foci. Four vertical gradient zones were divided from 2400m above the altitude. The night-trap method was used to investigate the small mammals in four seasons, and the characteristics of vertical space and seasonal niche of small mammals in this area were analyzed. A total of 1 583 small mammals belonging to 23 species were captured. The vertical niche width index ranged from 0 to 0.952 8, and the seasonal niche index ranged from 0 to 0.993 1. After integration, the time (season) niche width index (Bin1) ranged from 0 to 1.705 8, and the time-space 2D niche index (Bin2) ranged from 0 to 1.926 7. Among them, the dominant species, Apodemus chevrieri, A. draco and Eothenomys miletus had higher niche width indexes in vertical space, seasonal and time-space 2D niches, also had higher utilization of time and space resources. The rare species were Micromys minuts, Rattus norvegicus, Sciurotamias forresti, Crocidura horsfieldi, Suncus murinus and Mustela sibirica. The niche width index of vertical space, season and time-space were approximately 0, and the distribution of the resource axis was relatively single. The overlap index (Cih) of vertical space and seasonal is between 0 and 1. The significant species pairs of Cih > 0.3 were 147 and 152, accounting for 58.10% and 60.08% of the total species pairs, respectively, most of them are species pairs composed of dominant species and common species. The niche overlap index of space-time (Pih) is between 0 and 1, there were 208 significant species pairs with Pih > 0.3, accounting for 82.21% of all species pairs. Studies have shown that the niche width index and niche overlap index of dominant and common species of small mammals in Yulong plague foci were higher than those of rare species. But the overall use of space and time resources is reasonable, each group has its own ecological niche in the community, which ensures the relative stability of the community. This survey can provide basic data for the investigation and study of host animals of local plague and other natural foci diseases.

Abstract:The Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola and the Siberian Blue Robin Larvivora cyane are typical migrants along the East Asian-Australasian flyway. While the global population of the Yellow-breasted Bunting has experienced dramatic decrease over the past two decades and the population of the Siberian Blue Robin also shows a declining trend, however, their population status in China still remains unclear. Bird banding provides important data to monitor bird population dynamic and bird migration. The Qinhuangdao Bird Banding Station is situated at a forest farm at Bohai Bay, and locates in north middle section of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, with a variety of migratory passerines. Based on the banding data from the Qinhuangdao Bird Banding Station during 1999 to 2019, we analyzed the population dynamic and migration timing of Yellow-breasted Bunting and Siberian Blue Robin. The results indicated that the population of Yellow-breasted Bunting fluctuated in a 4﹣5 year-cycle, and decreased by 97.7% in the past 21 years at an annual rate of ﹣17.3% (Fig. 1). China government has enhanced the conservation and management of Yellow-breasted Bunting and its habitats in recent years, and listed it as a First Class National Protected Animal in early 2021, which would contribute to its population recovery gradually. The population of Siberian Blue Robin decreased by 4.2% annually. The decreasing mainly occurred during 1999 to 2003 and thereafter the population kept stable (Fig. 1). The daily capture peak of Yellow-breasted Bunting kept for about 15 days in spring, much shorter than the duration of 47 days in autumn (Fig. 2). This indicated that Yellow-breasted Bunting migrated much faster in spring than that in autumn, probably due to a time-minimization strategy for breeding. The capture peak of adult male, adult female and juvenile of Siberian Blue Robin occurred in sequence, with an interval of 4﹣5 days (Fig. 3), indicating that this species took a strategy of differential migration so as to reduce intraspecific competition at stopover sites and resting grounds, and adult males arriving earlier in breeding grounds to occupy optimal territory. To better understand the extent of population decline of the population of Yellow-breasted Bunting and other vulnerable passerine species in East Asian- Australasian flyway, and efficiently save these birds, we suggest a jointly standardized field survey such as bird banding in the flyway level (Table 1), and taking measures to resume habitats and control illegal hunting.

Abstract:The distribution rule of species range is a hotspot in the study on biogeography and biodiversity. According to the Rapoport’s law, it is believed that the range of species distribution increases as the altitude rises, but its applicability has been controversial. The Himalayas is one of the global biodiversity hotspots, with the largest altitude differences and complete vertical climate and vegetation zones in the world, so it is an ideal place to verify the Rapoport’s law. In order to investigate whether the species distribution of breeding birds within 3 600 m altitude gradient of Gyirong Valley section in the Middle Himalayas is in accordance with the Rapoport’s law, four surveys on breeding birds in Gyirong Valley section of the Middle Himalayas were carried out in rainy seasons of 2012 and 2013 using the line transect method. A total of 36 line transects were set up at an altitude range from 1 800 m to 5 400 m, with three line transects every 300 m altitude gradient (Fig. 1). A total of 169 species of breeding birds were recorded in the survey, and the species range was significantly skewed to the right (the average was 1 642.29 ± 544.63 m, the median was 728.5 m, and the maximum was 3 300 m, Fig. 2). Then, Stevens method, middle point method, Cross-species method, Pagel method and quartic method were used respectively to process the data, and the equation of linear regression was used to verify whether its complying with the Rapoport law. The results showed that the effectiveness of the Rapoport’s law was related to the verification method. Stevens’s method, middle point and Cross-species method did not support the Rapoport’s law, while Pagel method (R2 = 0.533) and quartic method (R2 = 0.382) supported the Rapoport’s law (Fig. 3). The comprehensive results demonstrated that the altitude pattern of breeding birds in Gyirong valley section presented a weak support for the Rapoport’s law, showing less applicable in this section.

Abstract:One specimen of Lycodon was collected from Chawalong Town, Zayu County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China during filed work in August and September 2018. The specimen from Zayu was similar to holotype for morphological comparison (Table 2). Analysis of mitochondrial DNA Cyt b sequences revealed that the sample from Zayu cluster with samples from Lushui and Lincang, Yunnan Province. The genetic distance within this clade was limited in 0.004﹣0.018 (Table 3). The specimen from Zayu was more related with specimens from Lushui with a minor distance between 0.004﹣0.006. Combined with morphological comparison, the Zayu specimen was finally identified as L. gongshan. This was the first record for the species in Tibet Autonomous Region. We also presented description of the hemipenes morphology of L. gongshan for the first time. Hemipenes of L. gongshan near bulbous, covered with small spine; spine on hemipenis larger and keratinized on base; no calyculate zone on top. Hemipenes not bifurcate; sulcus shallow, distinct, without spines; reaches 5th subcaudals when everted (Fig. 3). Two known body coloration of the species were recorded: rufous with black banded from Lushui and the type locality Gongshan County, Yunnan Province; white with black banded from Panzhihua in Sichuan Province. However, the body of Zayu specimen are olive-brown with black banded, which is reported for the first time.

Abstract:Tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic. This study investigated the effects of TCH at concentrations of 0 (control), 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/L on the survival, reproduction and population growth of Brachionus calyciflorus by means of life-table experiment. One-way ANOVA showed that TCH concentration had significant effects on life expectancy at hatching, generation time, net reproductive rate and intrinsic rate of population increase of the rotifers (P < 0.05), but did not have a marked effect on proportion of sexual offspring (P > 0.05). Multiple comparison of the least significant difference (LSD) showed that compared to the control, treatments with TCH at 2.5﹣40 mg/L prolonged significantly life expectancy at hatching and generation time by 35%﹣52% and 13%﹣24%, respectively (P < 0.01), and increased net reproductive rate by 17%﹣37% (P < 0.05), while that at 80 mg/L decreased net reproductive rate and intrinsic rate of population increase of the rotifers by 20.35% and 8.69%, respectively (P < 0.05) (Table 1). Regression analysis showed that there were significant dose-effect relationships between TCH concentration (x, mg/L) and life expectancy at hatching (y1), generation time (y2), net reproductive rate (y3) as well as intrinsic rate of population increase of the rotifers (y4), and the relationships could be described as y1 =﹣0.029x2 + 1.843x + 144.669, y2 =﹣0.007x2 + 0.476x + 73.521, y3 =﹣0.003x2 + 0.138x + 19.936 and y4 =﹣1.594 × 10–5x2 + 7.37 × 10–7x + 1.197, respectively (Table 2). When monitoring the ecological effects of lower TCH concentrations, the life expectancy at hatching, the generation time and the net reproductive rate had the same sensitivity, but when monitoring those of higher TCH concentrations, both the net reproduction rate and the intrinsic rate of population increase had the same sensitivity.

Abstract:To investigate the relationship among steroid hormones, estrous behaviors, and histological changes of sexual organs in breeding female blue foxes (Alopex lagopus), female individuals in different breeding stages were designated as three groups: typical estrus, atypical estrus, and non-estrus. Estrus identification, sample collection and hormone determination were performed. The hormone level was determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA) and XH6080 radioimmunoassay system was used in Xi'an Nuclear Instrument Factory. After the standard substance and samples were fully shaken with labeled antibody, they were then placed at room temperature for 15 min, centrifuged at 3 500 r/min for 15 min, and finally the supernatant was absorbed and discarded and the radioactivity count (CPM) of each precipitation tube was measured. Urine was collected and sent directly for hormone examination, and the contents of progesterone (P) and estradiol (E2) were determined. The ovaries and uterus were taken on the day of estrus and insemination. After dehydration, paraffin embedding, serial section and H.E staining, histological detection was conducted. Observation was conducted under optical microscope at 10 × 10 times lens and 10 × 100 times lens. The results showed that the female blue fox was in different phases of estrus, including vulva, vaginal resistance and keratinocyte stages, as shown in Fig. 1﹣3. The content of estradiol in the urine was significantly higher than that in the feces, especially in the typical estrus group, reaching 11 065.17 ± 546.76 ng/L, and the difference was significant. However, the content of progesterone in the urine was not significantly different from that in the feces, as shown in Table 2. The content of progesterone in the feces was slightly higher than that of urine in typical estrus females, but significantly higher than that of the urine in non-estrus females 16.61 ± 0.63 g/L, as shown in Table 1. Progesterone and estradiol contents were significantly correlated with estrus performance. When feces and urine were used as steroid test samples, although the hormone contents were different, the hormone changing trend was the same in these two kinds of samples. The ovary and uterus were relatively larger in female blue fox in typical estrus. Follicles at different stages and multiple corpus lutea could be observed in the ovary. The epithelial cells of uterine mucosa were columnar in shape and closely arranged, and a large number of glands could be observed in the lamina propria, as shown in Fig. 4 and 5. The ovarian and uterine development of the atypical estrus female was similar to that of the typical estrus female, as shown in Fig. 6 and 7. In the ovary and uterus of non-estrus female blue fox, the follicles in the ovary were mostly in an atresia state, without oocytes or corpus luteum. The lamina propria interstitial cells and myotrophic myocytes were arranged more closely, as shown in Fig. 8 and 9. It indicates that the blue fox's estrus state can be accurately determined by detecting the content of progesterone and estradiol hormones.

Abstract:Sexual dimorphism is very common in nature, and possibly evolved under the pressures of natural and sexual selection, however, the underlying mechanisms are still confusing. Many hypotheses were proposed to explain this phenomenon, such as explanations from dietary niche divergence, intra-sexual competition and mate choice, fecundity selection. To understand the evolution of sexual dimorphism in passerine birds, in present study, we measured the morphometrics (culmen length, bill width, bill depth, wing length, tail length, tarsus length, body mass) of 122 individuals (68 males and 54 females) and compared the difference of these morphological traits between sexes in a wild population of White-cheeked Starling Sturnus cineraceus, during early breeding season of the year 2019. Meanwhile, we also measured the morphology of internal organs of 28 dead birds which provided by the Forest Public Security Bureau of Qingyang City, and compared the difference between males and females. We used independent sample T-test to analyze the data, and calculated the dimorphism index and coefficient of variation for each sex and all variables to indicate the variability of each measurement. The results showed that in all body measurements except bill width, adult males were significantly larger than females (P < 0.05) (Table 1), exhibiting slightly male-biased sexual size dimorphism. By contrast, internal digestive organs showed no significant difference between sexes (all P values > 0.05) (Table 2). As a flock living bird, male and female starlings always forage together, and their food habits might be similar. The anatomical evidences of lacking sexual size dimorphism in internal organs suggest that food habit partition may have played a little role in the evolution of size divergence in this bird. Males compete potential nesting holes and guard mates in breeding season, the larger size might be advantageous in sexual selection. Our findings suggest that the larger body size of males is likely resulted from intra-sexual competition for nest sites and mates, however, more researches are needed to figure out the evolutionary mechanisms of sexual dimorphism in this bird.

Abstract:The difference in bird's body condition may lead to the variation of reproductive success. Recent works have suggested that biomarkers of oxidative stress might provide an additional tool to assess the health state of individuals. Oxidative stress is usually defined as the imbalance between pro-and anti-oxidative processes. Oxidative stress is the physiological adaptation mechanism of individuals to cope with stress, that reflects the environmental conditions that birds experience. The oxidative status also a priori informative tool to evaluate the reproduction and survival of individuals. However, the conclusion about the role of oxidative stress on the reproductive of wild organisms is not consistent. In this study, to explore whether the plasma biomarkers of oxidative stress can predict the reproductive success of Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), we took blood samples from the pairs of Varied Tit bred in the artificial nest boxes during their early brooding period (6﹣8 days post-hatching). Then we used the ELISA kit to measure the levels of plasma oxidative stress (reactive oxygen species, ROS and superoxide dismutase, SOD concentration). We also got the reproductive parameters of Varied Tit by nest monitoring. Partial least squares regression (PLS) analysis was used to analyze the relationship between oxidative stress and reproductive success (fledging rate and breeding success). We found that there are no significant differences between males and females in plasma reactive oxygen species and plasma superoxide dismutase concentration during chick-rearing period (independent- samples t-test: reactive oxygen species, t (20, 25) =﹣0.887, P = 0.380; superoxide dismutase, t(20, 25) =﹣1.325, P = 0.192). We also found that the plasma reactive oxygen species concentration was significantly negatively correlated with the fledging rate (partial least squares regression: B =﹣0.966, P = 0.013, Fig. 1 a) and breeding success (partial least squares regression: B =﹣0.976, P = 0.002, Fig. 2 a) of female Varied Tits, and females with a lower reactive oxygen species concentration tended to have a higher fledgling rate and breeding success. The reproductive success of female Varied Tit was not related to the plasma superoxide dismutase concentration, and there was no statistical significance in any analysis of males. Our findings suggest that reactive oxygen species, as a biomarker of oxidative stress in plasma, could be a tool to assess the fitness components and predict the reproductive success of female Varied Tits.

Abstract:Animal items consumed are important energy and nutrition resources for the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) during the breeding period. However, due to limitations of traditional diet analysis methods, the animal derived diet is still unclear, and the diet difference between different breeding sites is not well explored. The high-throughput sequencing (HTS) has offered major advantages over traditional methods in diet analysis, such as low work cost, big dataset and taxa assignment at a high fine scale level. Based on fecal sampling, we applied the HTS approach to identify animal items consumed by the Great Bustard in two core areas of Tumuji Nature Reserve (Kaoshan and Maanshan) during the breeding season, and compared the spatial variation in diet diversity. The diet diversity was estimated by Simpson and Shannon index, and the diet difference was compared between Kaoshan and Maanshan using ANOSIM test and nonmetric multi-dimensional scaling analysis (NMDS). The minimum sampling intensity (n = 11) is sufficient to make the detection limit of MOTUs reach the plateau (Fig. 1). Of 24 fecal samples, 29 unique prey DNA (Table 1) were discovered, corresponding to invertebrate species, with the prey group of the Coleoptera (the Arthropoda) accounting for the highest proportion (44.83%). Below the order level, the family Scarabaeidae accounted for the highest (24.14%), followed by Acridiidae (13.79%), Meloidae (10.34%) and Thripidae (6.89%). The consuming frequency of a given dietary species and the number of prey per individual in Maanshan were both significantly higher than that in Kaoshan, as well as the diet diversity index (Fig. 2). The diet of Great Bustard was different between two key breeding sites (Fig. 3). This study facilitates investigating the relationship between diet and habitat selection, as well as understanding of foraging strategies during the breeding period. By providing dietary reference data, it could help the conservation managers to effectively protect and restore the habitats of Great Bustard. Meanwhile, the basic framework could be applied in studying the feeding ecology of other species using the HTS method.

Abstract:The gut and skin play important roles in the body's immune system and are often exposed to the external environment. The difference in microbial communities can reflect the changes of the host in response to different environmental conditions. Whilenumerous gut and skin microbia have been characterized, there is no comparative analysis of the gut and skin microbial communities in the amphibian. In our study, we examined the difference of gut and skin tissues of Rana chensinensis tadpoles by hematoxylin-eosin (H.E) and Masson staining. Furthermore, we investigated the difference of gut and skin microbial communities in R. chensinensis tadpoles at Gosner stage 38 by using high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing technology. The statistical significance of difference was determined by the Student’s T-test. Our results revealed that: (1) There were histological structure difference of gut and ventral skin in tadpoles (Fig. 1). (2) The alpha diversity analysis showed that the microbial community biodiversity in the gut was significantly higher than that in the skin (P ≤ 0.001), while there was no difference in community richness between gut and skin samples (P > 0.05; Fig. 3). In addition, the hierarchical cluster and PCoA analysis showed that the distance of microbial communities between these two tissues was clearly separated from one another (Fig. 4). (3) Venn diagram showed that 175 OTUs were shared bythe gut and skin, while 70 OTUs were independently presented in the gut, and 87 in the skin (Fig. 5). (4) A taxonomic analysis revealed that the most prevalent phyla in the gut were Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia, whereas the predominant phyla found in skin were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes (Fig. 6a). Moreover, the Student’s T-test results revealed that the abundance of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria in the gut was significantly higher than in the skin, while the abundance of Bacteroidetes was just significantly higher in the skin (P ≤ 0.05; Fig. 6b). (5) The functional prediction results indicated that the abundance of “environmental information processing” function was significantly higher in the gut, whereas the “genetic information processing” and “metabolism” functions were significantly higher in the skin (P ≤ 0.01; Fig. 9). The results of this study revealed that there were significant differences in the composition of microbial communities in the gut and skin of R. chensinensis tadpoles. These differences will promote the growth and development of tadpoles to adapt to environmental changes.

Abstract:Hypodermosis is a disease caused by the infection of Hypodermatinae (Diptera, Oestridae) larvae. It seriously impact the development of agriculture, stock-breeding and public health. In this study we used morphological and molecular methods to identify the torsalo species infecting Plateau Zokor (Eospalax baileyi) in Luqu county, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu and to provide correct taxonomy for prevention, diagnosis and control of Hypodermosis. The result showed that the morphological characters of the third instar larvae were similar to the third instar larvae of Oestromyia leporina (Table 1). The difference of the partial COI gene sequences between the third instar larvae of studied torsalo and O. leporina was the smallest when compared with other three species of torsalo, with an average difference of 0.63% (Table 2). Based on phylogenetic analysis, the genetic distance between third instar larvae of studied torsalo and O. leporina was the shortest (Fig. 4). Therefore, it was determined that the torsalo infecting plateau zokor in Luqu county of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture was O. leporina.

Abstract:An experiment was conducted to screen molecular markers that can be used for classification of populations of cultured freshwater crayfish samples collected in Anhui, China. After genome extracting, PCR amplifying and sequencing of COⅠ, 16S rDNA, D-loop, Cyt b and 12S rDNA of the samples were performed, and the neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree and genetic distance in MEGA6.06 were used to compare the samples with 30 species recorded in GenBank. The reliability of neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was tested by 1 000 times bootstrap and the genetic distance was calculated based on kimura-2-parameter nucleotide substitution model. In the neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree (Fig. 1) constructed with Procambarus clarkii as an outgroup, the samples first clustered together with red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) and then constituted a relationship to other species, strongly showing that the samples should be classified as C. quadricarinatus. The genetic distance range (Table 3) showed that the average genetic distances of 16S rDNA, Cyt b and 12S rDNA were increasing from intraspecific individual to intra order interfamily, and were not at the same level, so that they can probably be better used in cultured population. The results from this paper will benefit the people working in the crayfish farm, and provide reference for classification of freshwater crayfish in the future.

Abstract:As the first nature reserve in mainland China, Dinghushan preserves a complete south subtropical monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest and is a biodiversity hotspot in southern China. The reserve is rich in bird resources, but historical research data is scattered, and there is no complete bird checklist. This article systematically sorts out the literature published from 1913 to 2019, and analyzes the changes of bird resources and the threatening factors of reserve. There is a total of 267 bird species from 17 orders, 64 families in the Reserve, with 45 species listed as national protection. As to its fauna, the Oriental species are dominant, accounting for 78.48% of breeding birds. For migratory status, there are 144 migrating species, and 118 resident birds. And another 5 species have both migration and long-term settlement. The literatures show that the ornithology research in the reserve mainly involving bird population, community, behavior and reproduction. The research on the population ecology of the Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera) and the bird community in different vegetation succession stages are more in-depth. Compared with historical records, there has been a significant decrease of water birds in the reserve and surrounding areas during the past 30 years, especially for Charadriiformes. It is related to the significant reduction in wetlands, such as marshes, ponds, and paddy fields due to rapid urbanization. We also found new distribution records of 15 bird species from 2013 to 2019, which are mainly migrating species, such as Barred Cuckoo Dove (Macropygia unchall). In the future, the reserve should comprehensively establish a long-term fixed monitoring system for bird diversity, strengthening theoretical research on bird life history, interspecific social organization, and community assembly mechanisms. The research advances on plant-animal functional diversity and ecosystem stability are necessary by integrating multitrophic interaction networks, which could provide more scientific basis for the protection and management of wildlife in the reserve.

Abstract:With the development of the red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) aquaculture industry, Temnocephalans attached to the body surface of red claw crayfish and their hazards have attracted the attention of the industry. In this paper, the taxonomic status and distribution of Temnocephalans were summarized based on literatures. Then, their external morphology and internal structures were presented in detail. Additionally, their biological characteristics of symbiosis, feeding habits, life history and movement mode were described, and their harm to crayfish and their control measures were discussed. This review is considered to provide a reference for the red claw crayfish aquaculture, and to understand temnocephalans, their prevention and control.

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