Infection by gymnophallid metacercariae enhances predation mortality on SW Atlantic stout razor clam Tagelus plebeius

ADDINO, M.; LOMOVASKY, B.; CREMONTE , FLORENCIA; IRIBARNE, O.

JOURNAL OF SEA RESEARCH

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2010 vol. 63 p. 102 - 107

1385-1101

Parasite  life  cycles  are  frequently  completed  in  different  hosts,  thus  the  parasites  have  its  life  cycle overlapped  to  natural  trophic  webs.  The  family  Gymnophallidae  (Class:  Trematoda;  Subclass:  Digenea) includes digenetic parasites whose larval stages occur on bivalves and may affect bivalve predation by the fi nal host of these parasites. In this work we evaluated: (a) if individuals of the razor clam Tagelus plebeius with higher parasite intensity suffer higher predation by the oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus and, (b) if there is any effect of parasite intensity on burrowing and escape behaviours of these razor clams which mayenhance exposure to predators. Field experiments (oystercatcher exclusion vs. open access) showed that clams with higher parasite intensity support higher predation by oystercatchers, which suggests a higher consumption of more parasitized clams and thus, a more successful reproduction of parasites linked to the intensity of infection. However, clam burrowing and escape behaviours did not show differences related to different parasite intensity, suggesting that the commonly believed mechanisms are not responsible in this case.