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Anthropogenic Pressure on a Molluscan–Trematode Community over a Long-term Period in the Basingstoke Canal, UK, and Its Implications for Ecosystem Health

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Abstract

A long-term study of a molluscan–trematode community in the Basingstoke Canal, UK, was undertaken over the period 1970–2003 which coincided with a significant restoration program involving substantial anthropogenic changes to the canal’s ecosystem. The aim of this study was to correlate these changes with alterations in the molluscan–trematode community, focusing on fluctuations in the prevalence and species richness of the trematode population as a good indicator, in terms of biodiversity, of ecosystem health. Molluscs were sampled at four time periods (1970, 1982, 1983, 2003) and examined for trematode parasites. The molluscan population over the sampling period demonstrated a limited stability with few species being present during all time periods. During 1982 and 1983, when restoration of the sampling site was being undertaken, Lymnaea stagnalis dominated the molluscan fauna, possibly because it was best able to take advantage of the disturbed conditions, while other species such as Bithynia tentaculata were absent. In the trematode population, the prevalence and diversity of both cercarial and metacercarial infections was high in 1970 prior to the period of restoration work. However, during 1982 and 1983, the trematode community was significantly reduced with cercarial prevalence declining to less than 1%. By 2003, more than 12 years after restoration had been completed, the trematode population had shown only a modest recovery. Trematodes use a wide range of different host species for completing their life-cycles and may be used as bioindicators of ecosystem diversity and health. An interpretation of the structure of the molluscan–trematode community over the sampling period suggests that the restoration project had an initial negative effect on ecosystem health, in terms of biodiversity, but this has subsequently only shown modest signs of recovery suggesting continuing problems in ecological functioning and stability.

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  1. School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK

    Neil J. Morley & John W. Lewis

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  1. Neil J. Morley
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  2. John W. Lewis
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Correspondence to Neil J. Morley.

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Morley, N.J., Lewis, J.W. Anthropogenic Pressure on a Molluscan–Trematode Community over a Long-term Period in the Basingstoke Canal, UK, and Its Implications for Ecosystem Health. EcoHealth 3, 269–280 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-006-0058-0

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