2005/06/27 by Xavier de Montaudouin, K. Thomas Jensen, Céline Desclaux +3
Environmental Science · Veterinary · Immunology and Microbiology · #Parasite Biology and Host Interactions #Helminth infection and control #Parasites and Host Interactions
paper · doi:10.1017/s0025315405011744
The edible cockle ( Cerastoderma edule ), a common marine bivalve in semi-sheltered sandflats, is a natural host for many parasite species of the genus Himasthla (Echinostomatidae: Trematoda). In a previous paper, Wegeberg et al. (1999) showed segregation of cockle infection by three Himasthla species ( H. interrupta , H. continua , H. elongata ) in relation to host tissue (foot, mantle, siphon) and host size (1·5 to 14 mm shell length). Following the same experimental procedure, a fourth species, H. quissetensis , an introduced dominant parasite of cockles in Arcachon Bay (south-west France) was investigated. The infection pattern was very similar to the patterns shown by H. elongata and H. continua. Cercariae (the free-living stage shed from prosobranch snails and encysting as metacercariae in bivalves) were most successful in the shell-length range of 6–14 mm, where 74% of the added cercariae were recovered as metacercariae. The comparison with the other Himasthla species supports the previous conclusion that the efficiency of cercariae to infect cockles depends on host size.