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Plagiorchis elegans: emergence, longevity and infectivity of cercariae, and host behavioural modifications during cercarial emergence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

C. A. Lowenberger  and
M. E. Rau
C. A. Lowenberger
Affiliation:
Institute of Parasitology, Macdonald Campus of McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada H9X 3V9
M. E. Rau
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Macdonald Campus of McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada H9X 3V9
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Summary

We investigated changes in the behaviour of Stagnicola elodes associated with the emergence of Plagiorchis elegans cercariae. Within 15 min of the reduction in light intensity, which triggered the onset of cercarial emergence, infected snails moved to the top of the water column and remained there for 2–3 h. Seventy-nine percent of all cercariae that emerged from the snail did so during this period. Uninfected snails showed no such behavioural changes following the change in light intensity. Cercariae were released in a dense cloud around the snail at the water surface and dispersed passively. Within 3–4 h more than 80% of all cercariae had settled in the bottom 5 cm of the water column. The infectivity of cercariae increased from less than 20% upon emergence from the snail to greater than 75% 4–6 h post-emergence, and then declined steadily to below 5% by 24 h post-emergence. Cercarial longevity was greater than 30 h and exceeded the period of infectivity. This may be related to steadily falling endogenous glycogen levels. A delay in attaining maximum infectivity may represent an adaptive mechanism allowing time for cercarial dissemination, thus reducing superinfection, and subsequent parasite-associated mortality, of second intermediate hosts.

Keywords

Plagiorchis elegansStagnicola elodescercariaparasite-induced behaviour changesinfectivity
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 109 , Issue 1 , July 1994 , pp. 65 - 72
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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