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Small-scale to large-scale and back: larval trematodes in Lymnaea stagnalis and Planorbarius corneus in Central Europe

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Abstract

We examined the small-scale temporal and spatial variability in composition and structure of larval trematode communities in Lymnaea stagnalis and Planorbarius corneus in two fish ponds in the Czech Republic and compared the patterns of richness and similarity to continental and regional trematode faunas of these hosts. The levels of parasitism in the populations of both hosts were high, the former parasitized predominantly by allogenic species maturing in a wide range of birds and the latter infected by relatively more species completing their life cycles in micromammals. Communities in both hosts exhibited a congruent pattern of seasonal change in overall infection rates and community composition with lower levels of infection in spring. Both temporal and spatial variation was closely related to the structure of snail populations, and no significant differentiation of community composition with respect to pond was observed. Comparisons with large-scale inventories revealed overall congruent patterns of decreased richness and similarity and increased variability at the smaller scales in both host–parasite systems. The relative compositional homogeneity of larval communities in both snail hosts irrespective of scale suggests that historical data at small to medium regional scales may provide useful estimates of past richness and composition of larval trematode communities in these snail hosts.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (AK and MS, grant P505/10/1562; MS, grant 206/09/HO26), the Ichthyoparasitology Research Centre of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (AK, grant LC 522) and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (AK, grant Z60220518). RB benefits from an Erasmus Work placement grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovska 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Rebecca Brown, Miroslava Soldánová & Aneta Kostadinova

  2. Division of Infection and Immunity, Faculty of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK

    Rebecca Brown

  3. IBERS, Aberystwyth University, Edward Llwyd Building, Penglais, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3DA, UK

    John Barrett

  4. Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Aneta Kostadinova

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  1. Rebecca Brown
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  2. Miroslava Soldánová
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  4. Aneta Kostadinova
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Correspondence to Aneta Kostadinova.

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Brown, R., Soldánová, M., Barrett, J. et al. Small-scale to large-scale and back: larval trematodes in Lymnaea stagnalis and Planorbarius corneus in Central Europe. Parasitol Res 108, 137–150 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-010-2047-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-010-2047-z

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