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Pulsed transmission of Pseudodiplorchis americanus (Monogenea) between desert hosts (Scaphiopus couchii)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

R. C. Tinsley  and
Helen C. Jackson
R. C. Tinsley
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary College, London University, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
Helen C. Jackson
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary College, London University, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
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Summary

Transmission of the monogenean Pseudodiplorchis americanus is restricted to the brief period when its host, the desert toad Scaphiopus couchii enters temporary water to breed. This study followed parasite recruitment into one host population in Arizona, USA, during the spawning season (July). Torrential rainfall triggered 3 successive assemblies. Amongst males, which may enter each assembly, the 3 pulses of invasion led to an approximate doubling of mean worm burdens at each exposure, culminating in 100% prevalence and a mean intensity of over 100 larvae/host. Females, which generally enter only one assembly, acquired a mean of about 40 larvae/host. Each exposure is limited to a maximum of 7 h by strictly nocturnal host activity, and the force of infection increased exponentially: around 10% of recruitment occurred in the first 3 h, and more than 30% in the last 1 h. Correlation of recruitment into males with parasite reproductive potential suggests that individual oncomiracidia had a 30% chance of invasion. Although invasion of the desert host relies on an aquatic infective stage, host behaviour ensures that targets are concentrated in space and time, and the parasite's annual reproductive output is synchronized with a period of host vulnerability totalling less than 24 h/year.

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 97 , Issue 3 , December 1988 , pp. 437 - 452
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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