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Relationship between prevalence of trematode parasite Diplostomum sp. and population density of its snail host Lymnaea stagnalis in lakes and ponds in Finland

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Abstract

Diplostomum sp. is a trematode parasite that infects aquatic snails, e.g. Lymnaea stagnalis (Gastropoda: Lymnaeidae), fish, and fish-eating birds. Ponds and lakes (n = 28) located in Finland between latitudes 61°45′N and 65°30′N were sampled for L. stagnalis, the first intermediate host for Diplostomum sp. L. stagnalis were found in 22 sites out of 28, and Diplostomum sp. in 10 of the 22 snail populations. Among the L. stagnalis populations that were infected by Diplostomum sp., the mean prevalence was 12.8%. Diplostomum sp. occurred in only one out of the seven L. stagnalis populations in four large lakes, but in 9 out of the 16 L. stagnalis populations in small lakes. In the pooled data, a positive correlation (r s = 0.427; P = 0.047; n = 22) between L. stagnalis density and Diplostomum sp. prevalence was found. The results suggest that Diplostomum sp. is fairly common in L. stagnalis populations in small lakes but rare in large lakes. Furthermore, although trematode parasites, in general, should have a negative effect on snail population density, the study indicates that the relationship between host density and parasite prevalence may greatly differ for individual trematode species, such as Diplostomum sp.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Janne Partanen, Mirjami Hytönen, Jaana Kähkönen, and Greta Waissi for help in snail collection, to Kirsti Kyyrönen for drawing the map figure, and to Heikki Simola for checking the manuscript for language. The Nordic Working Group on Fisheries Research (NAF), the Graduate School in Biological Interactions, and the Academy of the Finland’s Centre of Excellence in Evolutionary Ecology financially supported the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecological Research Institute, Faculty of Biosciences, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Ari Voutilainen

  2. Department of Biology, Section of Ecology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland

    Tapio van Ooik

  3. Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Mikael Puurtinen & Jouni Taskinen

  4. Department of Biology, Section of Ecology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, 90014, Oulu, Finland

    Raine Kortet

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Correspondence to Ari Voutilainen.

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Voutilainen, A., van Ooik, T., Puurtinen, M. et al. Relationship between prevalence of trematode parasite Diplostomum sp. and population density of its snail host Lymnaea stagnalis in lakes and ponds in Finland. Aquat Ecol 43, 351–357 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-008-9203-x

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