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Journal article
Twenty thousand fishes under the seas: Insights into the collection and storage of trematodes from the examination of 20,000 fishes in the tropical Indo west-Pacific
Journal of helminthology, Vol.99, e45
2025
PMID: 40051264
Abstract
The techniques employed to collect and store trematodes vary between research groups, and although these differences are sometimes necessitated by distinctions in the hosts examined, they are more commonly an artefact of instruction. As a general rule, we tend to follow what we were taught rather than explore new techniques. A major reason for this is that there are few technique papers in the published literature. Inspired by a collaborative workshop at the Trematodes 2024 symposium, we outline our techniques and processes for collecting adult trematodes from fishes and discuss the improvements we have made over 40 years of dissections of 20,000+ individual marine fishes. We present these techniques for two reasons: first, to encourage unified methods across the globe, with an aim to produce optimally comparable specimens across temporal periods, across geographic localities, and between research groups; and second, as a resource for inexperienced researchers. We stress the importance of understanding differences in host biology and the expected trematode fauna, which ultimately enables organised and productive dissections. We outline our dissection method for each key organ separately, discuss handling, fixation, and storage methods to generate the most uniform and comparable samples, and explore ethical considerations, issues of accurate host identification, and the importance and potential of clear record keeping.
Details
- Title
- Twenty thousand fishes under the seas: Insights into the collection and storage of trematodes from the examination of 20,000 fishes in the tropical Indo west-Pacific
- Authors/Creators
- S.C. Cutmore - The University of QueenslandR.A. Bray - Natural History MuseumD.C. Huston - The University of QueenslandS.B. Martin - Murdoch University, Centre for Sustainable Aquatic EcosystemsT.L. Miller - Queensland Museum, Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, South Brisbane, Queensland, 4101, AustraliaN.Q-X. Wee - Queensland MuseumR.Q-Y. Yong - The University of QueenslandT.H. Cribb - The University of Queensland
- Publication Details
- Journal of helminthology, Vol.99, e45
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- We thank the many past members and collaborators of our research group who have contributed to the development of our methods over many years. We also thank the attendees of Trematodes 2024 (Brisbane, Australia) for their input in the workshop where these ideas were presented and discussed. This project represents a contribution to Taxonomy Australia (2020), a national initiative organised under the auspices of the Australian Academy of Science that brings together the taxonomic community to develop approaches that will significantly increase the rate at which new species are discovered, resolved, and named, with a view to completely documenting the Australian biota within a generation. This paper is the 940th to include a contribution by a member or members of the North-West University's Water Research Group.
- Identifiers
- 991005751326407891
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2025.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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InCites Highlights
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 1 Clinical & Life Sciences
- 1.163 Parasitology - General
- 1.163.645 Fish Parasitology
- Web Of Science research areas
- Parasitology
- Zoology
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science