Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:44:26.710Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The viability of Sphaeridiotrema pseudoglobulus (Digenea) eggs following cold water storage as a possible overwintering strategy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

C. W. McKindsey
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montréal, Québec, Canada H3G 1M8
J. D. McLaughlin
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montréal, Québec, Canada H3G 1M8

Summary

Sphaeridiotrema pseudoglobulus is a digenean parasite believed to be involved in a yearly fall die-off of ducks in Québec, Canada. Hatching characteristics of eggs stored at 7°C for 0–28 weeks in the lab and following maintenance overwinter in a lake are described. The hatching success of eggs stored for 4–28 weeks remained constant (71–81 %) but slightly less than that observed in fresh eggs (90%). The hatching success of eggs kept overwinter under natural conditions did not differ from that of eggs stored an equivalent length of time in the lab at 7°C (74·7 and 75·8%, respectively). With the exception of fresh eggs (17·7 days), the mean hatch time of eggs steadily decreased with increased storage time (18·9 days following 4 weeks storage to 11·4 days at 28 weeks storage) due to a slow embryonation of the eggs at 7°C. Hatching characteristics of a subsample of eggs incubated at 10, 15 and 20°C were compared and the embryonation rate was found to increase with incubation temperature. The majority of eggs stored at 10°C embryonated but failed to hatch. When their incubation temperature was raised to 15°C, a further 46% hatched within the following week. The survivorship functions of miracidia hatching from eggs stored for 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks differed but the mean expected life-span of the miracidia did not decline with increasing storage time as expected. The results of these experiments are discussed in relation to the potential importance of overwintered eggs in the development of the infective pool of metacercariae.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anderson, R. M. (1978). Population dynamics of snail infections by miracidia. Parasitology 77, 201–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, R. W. & Whitfield, P. J. (1975). Survival characteristics of the free-living cercarial population of the ectoparasite digenean Transversotrema patialensis (Soparkar, 1924). Parasitology 70, 295310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, R. M., Wilson, R. A. & Carter, N. P. (1982). Transmission of Schistosoma mansoni from man to snail: experimental studies of miracidial survival and infectivity in relation to larval age, water temperature, host size and host age. Parasitology 85, 339–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bundy, D. A. P. (1981). Survival characteristics of the free-living miracidial population of Transversotrema patialense (Soparkar) (Digenea: Transverso-trematidae). Journal of Parasitology 67, 531–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, W. C. (1961). Notes on the egg and miracidium of Fascioloides magna (Trematoda). Transactions of the American Microbiological Society 80, 308–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, N. Ø., Frandsen, F. & Roushdy, M. Z. (1980). The influence of environmental conditions and parasite-intermediate host-related factors on the transmission of Echinostoma liei. Zeitschrift für Parasitenkunde 63, 4763.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandez, J. & Esch, G. W. (1991). Guild structure of larval trematodes in the snail Helisoma anceps: patterns and processes at the individual host level. Journal of Parasitology 77, 528–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibson, G. G., Broughton, E. & Choquette, L. P. E. (1972). Waterfowl mortality caused by Cyathocotyle bushiensis Khan, 1962 (Trematoda: Cyathocotylidae), St. Lawrence River, Quebec. Canadian Journal of Zoology 50, 1351–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goater, T. M., Shostak, A. W., Williams, J. A. & Esch, G. W. (1989). A mark-recapture study of trematode parasitism in overwintered Helisoma anceps (Pulmonata), with special reference to Halipegus occidualis (Hemiuridae). Journal of Parasitology 75, 553–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoeve, J. & Scott, M. E. (1988). Ecological studies on Cyathocotyle bushiensis (Digenea) and Sphaeridiotrema globulus (Digenea), possible pathogens of dabbling ducks in southern Quebec. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 24, 407–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hope-Cawdery, M. J., Gettinby, G. & Grainger, J. N. R. (1978). Mathematical models for predicting the prevalence of liver disease and its control from biological and meterological data. World Meterological Organization, Technical Note No. 159. Weather and Parasitic Animal Diseases, pp. 2138.Google Scholar
Huffman, J. E. & Roscoe, D. E. (1986). Acquired resistance in mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchus) to infection with Sphaeridiotrema globulus (Trematoda). Journal of Parasitology 72, 958–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huffman, J. E. & Roscoe, D. E. (1989). Experimental infections of waterfowl with Sphaeridiotrema globulus (Digenea). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 25, 143–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hugghins, E. J. (1954). Life history of a strigeid trematode, Hysteromorpha triloba (Rudolphi, 1819) Lutz, 1931. I. Egg and miracidium. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 73, 115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, J. C. (1920). The life-cycle of Echinostomum revolutum (Froelich). University of California Publications in Zoology 19, 335–88.Google Scholar
Krull, W. H. (1934). Notes on the hatchability and infectivity of refrigerated eggs of Fasciola hepatica Linn. Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science 41, 309–11.Google Scholar
Lee, J., Pilgrim, W., McLaughlin, J. D. & Burt, M. D. B. (1992). Effects of temperature on the oncospheres of the cestode Microsomacanthus hopkinsi and its implications for their over-winter survival. Canadian Journal of Zoology 70, 935–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaughlin, J. D., Scott, M. E. & Huffman, J. E. (1993). Sphaeridiotrema globulus (Rud., 1814): evidence for two species known under a single name and a description of Sphaeridiotrema pseudoglobulus n. sp. Canadian Journal of Zoology (in the press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macy, R. W. (1973). Acquired resistance in ducks to the psilostome trematode Sphaeridiotrema globulus (Rudolphi, 1814). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 9, 44–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ménard, L. & Scott, M. E. (1987 a). Seasonal occurrence of Cyathocotyle bushienesis Khan, 1962 (Digenea: Cyathocotylidae) metacercariae in the intermediate host Bithynia tentaculata L. (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia). Canadian Journal of Zoology 65, 2980–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ménard, L. & Scott, M. E. (1987 b). Hatching and survival characteristics of Cyathocotyle bushiensis Khan, 1962 (Digenea) eggs and miracidia. Parasitology 95, 355–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Norušis, M. J. & Spss Inc. (1990). SPSS Advanced Statistics Student Guide. Chicago: SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Pearson, J. C. (1961). Observations on the morphology and life-cycle of Neodiplostomum intermedium (Trematoda: Diplostomatidae). Parasitology 51, 133–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pinel-Alloul, B. & Magnin, E. (1971). Cycle vitale et croissance de Bithynia tentaculata L. (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Prosobranchia) dans le Saint Laurent (Québec). Canadian Journal of Zoology 49, 759–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, E. W. (1934). Losses among wild ducks due to infestation with Sphaeridiotrema globulus (Rudolphi) (Trematoda: Psilostomidae). Proceedings of the Helminthological Society, Washington 1, 31–4.Google Scholar
Raišyté, D. I. (1973). Embryonal development of the subspecies Apatemon gracilis minor (Trematoda: Strigeidae). Lietuvos TSR Mokslu Akademijos Darbai, (Series C) 61, 153–8.Google Scholar
Reader, T. A. J. (1971). The pathological effects of sporocysts, rediae and metacercariae on the digestive gland of Bithynia tentaculata (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Parasitology 63, 483–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowcliffe, S. A. & Ollerenshaw, C. B. (1960). Observations on the bionomics of the egg of Fasciola hepatica. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 54, 172–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smyth, J. D. & Halton, D. W. (1983). The Physiology of Trematodes, 2nd Edn.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Usinené, B. & Kiseliené, V. (1973). The developmental cycle of Sphaeridiotrema globulus. In Materialy VI Pribaltiiˇskoiˇ Nauchno-Koordinatsionnoiˇ Konferentsii po Voprosam Parazitologii, 21–22 iyunya, pp. 187189. Vilnius: Institute of Zoology and Parasitology, Lituanian Academy of Science.Google Scholar
Vincent, B. & Vaillancourt, G. (1980). Regime thermique de l'eau dans la zone littorale dans la haute estuaire du Saint Laurent. Eau de Québec 13, 120–3.Google Scholar
Vincent, B., Vaillancourt, G. & Harvey, M. (1981). Cycle de développement, croissance, effectifs, biomasse et production de Bithynia tentaculata L. (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) dans le Saint Laurent (Québec). Canadian Journal of Zoology 59, 1237–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, R. A., Smith, G. & Thomas, M. R. (1982). Fascioliasis. In The Population Dynamics of Infectious Diseases: Theory and Applications (ed. Anderson, R. M.), pp. 262319. London: Chapman and Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, R. A. & Taylor, S. L. (1978). The effects of variations in host and parasite density on the level of parasitization of Lymnaea truncatula by Fasciola hepatica. Parasitology 76, 91–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed