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Effects of host habitat quality on the viability of Cryptocotyle lingua (Trematoda: Digenea) cercariae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2004

M. A. CROSS
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB
S. W. B. IRWIN
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Studies, The University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim BT37 0QB
S. M. FITZPATRICK
Affiliation:
Game, Wildlife and Countryside Management, Sparsholt College Hampshire, Sparsholt, Winchester SO21 2NF
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Abstract

In an earlier study it was shown that Cryptocotyle lingua cercariae, matured in Littorina littorea from a polluted marine lagoon, displayed slower horizontal swimming rates, and reduced longevity compared to cercariae released by periwinkles from a cleaner environment. This work investigated whether the pollution-induced reduction in swimming rates was due to an inefficient swimming action or the adoption of a less direct swimming path. In addition, cercariae from L. littorea that had been transferred from an ‘unpolluted’ to a ‘polluted’ site for 1 month provided information on the speed with which pollutants affect cercariae through their intermediate hosts. Results indicated that, in general, horizontal swimming rates were reduced due to slower swimming rather than disorientation and longer swimming pathways. Effects of host transplantation to a polluted site were clearly evident after 1 month. Evidence suggested that the pollutants accumulated by the cercariae via their first intermediate host affected the neuromusculature associated with swimming performance rather than sensory structures. Bearing in mind the reduced viability of C. lingua cercariae in polluted sites it is assumed that high prevalence of this digenean in gastropods (at such sites) must be due to their continual introduction by infected birds attracted to these habitats from other areas.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Fig. 1. Mean HSR (mm s−1) of ‘clean’ and ‘polluted’ Cryptocotyle lingua cercariae in artificial seawater. Black line shows the HSR of ‘clean’ transplanted cercariae at the beginning of the experiment and after transplantation of their host to a ‘polluted’ site (clean-to-polluted). Error bars show standard error.

Figure 1

Table 1. A comparison of swimming speed (HSR) of Cryptocotyle lingua cercariae from ‘clean’, ‘polluted’ and ‘clean-to-polluted’ periwinkles

Figure 2

Fig. 2. Mean path lengths (mm) swum by ‘clean’ Muck Island and ‘polluted’ Whitehouse Lagoon Cryptocotyle lingua cercariae in artificial seawater. Black line shows the path length swum by ‘clean’ transplanted cercariae at the beginning of the experiment and after transplantation of their host to a ‘polluted’ site (clean-to-polluted). Error bars show standard error.

Figure 3

Fig. 3. Mean number of turns made by ‘clean’ and ‘polluted’ Cryptocotyle lingua cercariae in artificial seawater. Black line shows the number of turns made by ‘clean’ transplanted cercariae at the beginning of the experiment and after transplantation of their hosts to a ‘polluted’ site (clean-to-polluted). Error bars show standard error.

Figure 4

Fig. 4. (A) Mean longevity (h) of ‘clean’ and ‘polluted’ Cryptocotyle lingua cercariae in artificial seawater. Black line shows the longevity of ‘clean’ transplanted cercariae at the beginning of the experiment and after transplantation of their hosts to a ‘polluted’ site (clean-to-polluted). Means were calculated from longevity of cercariae from 3 periwinkles (100 cercariae per periwinkle). Error bars show standard error. (B) Kaplan-Meier estimated survival plots for ‘clean’, ‘polluted’ and ‘clean-to-polluted’ Cryptocotyle lingua cercariae: ‘Polluted’ cercariae at the start ([utrif ]) and end ([dtri ]) of the experiment; ‘clean’ cercariae at the start (□) and end ([squf ]) end of the experiment and ‘clean-to-polluted’ () cercariae at the end of the experiment.

Figure 5

Table 2. A comparison of Cryptocotyle lingua cercarial longevities from ‘clean’, ‘polluted’ and ‘clean-to-polluted’ periwinkles