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The specific factors that influence spatial community or population dynamics are often elusive, and even less known is the impact of tropical urban landscapes on diverse species community assemblages.To address this knowledge gap, we used a survey data set with 510 fruit‐feeding butterflies comprising 20 species across two heterogeneous habitats within a city in Nigeria. Next, we constructed generalised linear mixed models to understand the differential responses of the butterfly community to changes in environmental conditions across habitats.Butterfly species community assemblages significantly differed between the two urban habitats, with butterfly species significantly higher in the savannah woodland compared with the gallery forest due to the optimal daily temperatures of the savannah woodland. However, butterfly richness was lower in the gallery forest due to extreme environmental conditions.This study highlights that butterfly community changes in tropical urban landscapes are possibly responding to local microclimates and spatial heterogeneity across habitats.For evidence‐based conservation management of tropical butterfly biodiversity, there would be need for a long‐term, extensive and systematic insect monitoring programme for butterflies across disturbed and undisturbed fragmented habitats harbouring diverse insect species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camel Trypanosomosis (Surra), caused by Trypanosoma evansi is a serious problem in the camel-rearing regions of Nigeria. In the present study, 150 camels slaughtered in Sokoto central abattoir were examined for the presence of antibodies and DNA of T. evansi using the Card Agglutination Test (CAT) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) methods, respectively. Antibody and the DNA of T. evansi were detected in 42 (28.0%) and 68 (45.3%) of the animals tested by the CAT and PCR, respectively. Higher prevalence was found among young camels compared to the adults using CAT (33.3% vs 27.8%), while adults had higher prevalence than the young (46.5% vs 16.7%) using PCR technique. Both the techniques recorded higher prevalence in males than females; CAT (28.3% vs 25.0%) and PCR (49.3% vs 0.0%). The detection of T. evansi DNA was significantly associated with the age (p=0.001) and sex (p=0.002) of camels, but not for the serological technique (p> 0.05). The detection of antibodies and DNA of T. evansi in camels in this study attest to the possibility of continuous exposure of camels to infections. The role of Surra in camel production in Nigeria and the need for holistic control measures are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camels are becoming increasingly important in northern Nigeria, both as work animals and source of protein for humans. Haemoparasitic infections constitute a threat to health and productivity of camels leading to economic losses. A crosssectional study was conducted on blood samples of 600 camels from northwestern Nigeria to determine the prevalence of haemoparasites. Blood samples from apparently healthy camels slaughtered for human consumption in Kano and Katsina abattoirs were screened for haemoparasites by parasitological method. Four haemoparasite genera and their prevalence which include, Babesia (0.3% vs 0.3%), Anaplasma (1.0% vs 1.3%), Theileria (3.0% vs 0.3%) and Trypanosoma (6.3% vs 4.3%) of veterinary importance were detected in Katsina and Kano states respectively. Haemoparasites overall prevalence of 6.3% and 10.6% were also recorded for Kano and Katsina states, respectively. Infection due to Trypanosoma sp. was more prevalent in the two study areas. Overall, there was no association between haemoparasites prevalence, age, sex, season and body condition of camels. This study emphasizes periodic evaluation of parasitic infections of camels taking into consideration risk factors and public health importance associated with camels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consumption of fresh vegetables serves as source of important nutrients in the body; however, parasitic infection from the consumption of raw fruits and vegetables is on the increase. This study aimed at identifying the parasitic contamination of Vegetables sold at Masaka market New Karu, Nasarawa State. A total of 240 samples of vegetables were examined by sedimentation concentration after washing using normal saline. The overall prevalence of parasitic contamination was 52.5%. Fluted pumpkin (93.3%) was the most contaminated vegetable while cucumber and apple (16.7%) were the least contaminated vegetables (P>0.05). Strongyloides stercoralis (28.9%) was the most frequently detected parasite followed by Taenia spp (18.8%), Entamoeba coli (17.2%), Hookworm (13.3%), Entamoeba histolytica (8.6%), Ascaris lumbricoides (7.8%) and Toxocara spp (5.5%) was the least detected parasite. The parasitic contamination of different vegetables shows that Tomatoes and Lettuce had the highest poly-parasitic contamination of four species of parasites, whereas Apple and Cucumber had the least poly-parasitic contamination of one parasite. Strongyloides stercoralis had the highest infestation (37.5%) of the water samples used to refresh the vegetables. Vegetables that were washed before display for selling was significantly associated with reduced parasitic contamination (P>0.05). Vegetables are potential sources of transmission for intestinal parasites in the study area, hence, proper washing of fruits and cooking of vegetables is required to reduce parasitic infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]