Effects of Parasite Infection and Host Body Size on Habitat Associations of Invasive Aquatic Snails: Implications for Environmental Monitoring

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori R. Tolley‐Jordan ◽  
Michael A. Chadwick
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Environmental Monitoring ◽  
Parasite Infection ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Size

Explaining variability in parasite aggregation levels among host samples

Parasitology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Helminth Parasites ◽  
Susceptibility To Infection ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Parasite Aggregation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Host Body Size

SUMMARYAggregated distributions among individual hosts are a defining feature of metazoan parasite populations. Heterogeneity among host individuals in exposure to parasites or in susceptibility to infection is thought to be the main factor generating aggregation, with properties of parasites themselves explaining some of the variability in aggregation levels observed among species. Here, using data from 410 samples of helminth parasites on fish hosts, I tested the contribution of (i) within-sample variation in host body size, taken as a proxy for variability in host susceptibility, and (ii) parasite taxon and developmental stage, to the aggregated distribution of parasites. Log-transformed variance in numbers of parasites per host was regressed against log mean number across all samples; the strong relationship (r2 = 0·88) indicated that aggregation levels are tightly constrained by mean infection levels, and that only a small proportion of the observed variability in parasite aggregation levels remains to be accounted for by other factors. Using the residuals of this regression as measures of ‘unexplained’ aggregation, a mixed effects model revealed no significant effect of within-sample variation in host body size or of parasite taxon or stage (i.e. juvenile versus adult) on parasite aggregation level within a sample. However, much of the remaining variability in parasite aggregation levels among samples was accounted for by the number of individual hosts examined per sample, and species-specific and study-specific effects reflecting idiosyncrasies of particular systems. This suggests that with most differences in aggregation among samples already explained, there may be little point in seeking universal causes for the remaining variation.

scholarly journals Costs of immune responses are related to host body size and lifespan

2017 ◽  
Vol 327 (5) ◽  
pp. 254-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber J. Brace ◽  
Marc J. Lajeunesse ◽  
Daniel R. Ardia ◽  
Dana M. Hawley ◽  
James S. Adelman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Size

scholarly journals Host body size and the diversity of tick assemblages on Neotropical vertebrates

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen J. Esser ◽  
Janet E. Foley ◽  
Frans Bongers ◽  
Edward Allen Herre ◽  
Matthew J. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Size

scholarly journals Consumer and host body size effects on the removal of trematode cercariae by ambient communities

Parasitology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-347
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Welsh ◽  
Anke Hempel ◽  
Mirjana Markovic ◽  
Jaap van der Meer ◽  
David W. Thieltges
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Effects ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Removal Rates ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Host Body Size ◽  
Significant Mortality

AbstractParasite transmission can be altered via the removal of parasites by the ambient communities in which parasite–host interactions take place. However, the mechanisms driving parasite removal remain poorly understood. Using marine trematode cercariae as a model system, we investigated the effects of consumer and host body size on parasite removal rates. Laboratory experiments revealed that consumer or host body size significantly affected cercarial removal rates in crabs, oysters and cockles but not in shrimps. In general, cercarial removal rates increased with consumer (crabs and oysters) and host (cockles) body size. For the filter feeding oysters and cockles, the effects probably relate to their feeding activity which is known to correlate with bivalve size. Low infection levels found in cockle hosts suggest that parasite removal by hosts also leads to significant mortality of infective stages. The size effects of crab and shrimp predators on cercarial removal rates were more complex and did not show an expected size match-mismatch between predators and their cercarial prey, suggesting that parasite removal rates in predators are species-specific. We conclude that to have a comprehensive understanding of parasite removal by ambient communities, more research into the various mechanisms of cercarial removal is required.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Influence of the Host Body Size on Morphometrical Characteristics ofAncylodiscoides SiluriandAncylodiscoides Vistulensis

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (sup1) ◽  
pp. 735-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Mancheva ◽  
E. Karaivanova ◽  
G. Atanasov ◽  
S. Stojanovski ◽  
I. Nedeva
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Size
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