Dr. Mac, guests study parasites in local fish, amphibians
A group of world renowned parasitologists and ichthyologists met at the Ouachita Mountains Biological Station (OMBS), just east of Mena, Arkansas, on June 11-16, 2019, to study parasites of local fishes and amphibians. This is the second time the OMBS (first was March 2016) has served as headquarters for the research and many of the same participants.
Participants of the OMBS II parasitology research outing, June 11-16, 2019. Front row (left to right): Eva Řehulková, Don Cloutman, Tomáš Scholz. Back row (left to right): Andrea Šimková, Roman Kuchta, Vasyl Tkach, T. J. Fayton, Chris McAllister. Not pictured: Henry Robison.
Dr. Chris McAllister, EOSC-Idabel Professor, organized the event and took part in the research. In addition to Dr. Mac, the group consisted of: Drs. Andrea Šimková, Eva Řehulková, Roman Kuchta, and Tomáš Scholz (all from the Czech Republic), T. J. Fayton (Cornell University), Vasyl Tkach (University of North Dakota), Don Cloutman (retired, Burdett, Kansas), and Henry W. Robison (retired, Sherwood, Arkansas).
According to Dr. Mac, the weather was beautiful and the water levels in the creeks and rivers provided ample opportunity for the biologists to collect hosts and study the monogene (gill parasites of fishes) and helminth parasites of fishes and amphibians of the region.
Dr. Mac said many interesting findings were made including the discovery of several species new to science. Many of the parasites will also be studied using molecular methods to examine their DNA, for the first time. The data will eventually be published in the scientific literature in some leading parasitological journals. This is the fourth organized trip with many of the same people and past trips were to southeast Arkansas (Dumas, Arkansas), OMBS I, and the Buffalo River, Arkansas. A fifth trip will hopefully be held in the future.
Dr. Mac thanks Drs. Mac Hardy and Jeff Pittman for allowing the group to stay at the OMBS.
The article was retracted from: http://www.se.edu/mccurtain/dr-mac-guests-study-parasites-in-local-fish-amphibians/
