Syllabus
This field course is focused on demonstration and identification of arthropods, helminths and protozoa parasitizing in wild and farm animals. The course documents ontogenesis and life cycles of selected groups of parasites in natural conditions.
Emphasis is placed on methods of parasite collection, including parasitological examination of various hosts, methods of fixation and preservations of parasites and subsequent processing for their identification etc. Practical demonstrations include the capture of small rodents by two trapping methods, collection of their ectoparasites and total autopsy of rodents for the presence of endoparasites; capture and examination of birds for ectoparasites and blood parasites; parasitological examination of farm animals; for blood-feeding arthropods: identification and autopsy demonstrating the presence of transmitted protozoa, isolation and cultivation of live parasites; collection of aquatic larvae of parasitic (blood-feeding) insects; collection and identification of aquatic and terrestrial molluscs and demonstration of transmitted helminths; collection and identification of leeches etc.
Annotation
Field survey techniques. Collecting of small mammals, birds, and fish followed by parasitological examination of collected specimens.
Methods for collecting and preserving medically important arthropods, mainly ticks and bloodsucking Diptera. Microscopic determination of parasitic protozoa, helminths and arthropods from free living and domestic animals.
One week in the field station of Charles University in South Bohemia.