Abstract：
Waterbirds, are one of the popular game animals and are of significant relevance to parasite spread due to their ability to fly and migrate great distances in relatively short periods of time. In Australia, however, the knowledge of parasites infecting native waterbirds is lacking with some of the last reports occurring over 50 years ago. The study aimed to characterise Echinostoma spp. infecting wild native Australian ducks found in the southern regions of the Murray Darling Basin (MDB). Ducks (n = 98) were collected from southern New South Wales within the MDB catchment. Three different species of native ducks were found including Anas superciliosa (n = 37), Anas gracilis (n = 47) and Chenonetta jubata (n = 14), of which 4.3 %, 2.7 % and 7.1 %, respectively, were found to be infected with adult stages Echinostoma spp. Examination of the parasites revealed the presence of two morphotypes. The 18S, 28S and ITS rRNA as well as the mitochondrial nad1 genes were sequenced for representative isolates of the two morphotypes. These sequences were then compared with existing sequences of Echinostoma spp. available in the GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ITS region indicated that the two morphotypes were genetically distinct. Although there are comparable sequences of Echinostoma spp. in Australia these morphotypes appear to be genetically distinct. Based on their distinct morphology and genetics we suggest that these two morphotypes are previously undescribed in Australia. This study sheds light on the presence of Echinostoma parasites in native Australian waterbirds and highlights the need for further research to better understand the diversity and prevalence of these parasites in the region.
摘要：
水鸟,是流行的游戏动物之一，由于它们能够在相对较短的时间内飞行和迁移远距离，因此与寄生虫传播具有重要意义。在澳大利亚,然而,缺乏有关寄生虫感染本地水鸟的知识，最近的一些报道发生在50多年前。该研究旨在表征棘球蚴属物种。感染在默里达令盆地（MDB）南部地区发现的野生澳大利亚本土鸭子。鸭子（n=98）是从MDB流域内的新南威尔士州南部收集的。发现了三种不同的本地鸭子，包括Anassuperciliosa（n=37），Anasgracilis（n=47）和Chenonettajubata（n=14），其中4.3%，2.7%和7.1%，分别,被发现感染了成年阶段的棘皮动物。对寄生虫的检查显示存在两种形态类型。18S,对两种形态型的代表性分离株进行了28S和ITSrRNA以及线粒体nad1基因的测序。然后将这些序列与棘皮动物的现有序列进行比较。在GenBank中可用。基于ITS区域的系统发育分析表明，这两种形态在遗传上是不同的。尽管棘突属物种的序列相似。在澳大利亚，这些形态类型似乎在遗传上不同。根据它们独特的形态和遗传学，我们建议这两种形态在澳大利亚以前没有描述过。这项研究揭示了澳大利亚本土水鸟中棘球虫寄生虫的存在，并强调需要进一步研究以更好地了解该地区这些寄生虫的多样性和患病率。
