Environmental parasitology: Parasites as accumulation bioindicators in the marine environment

Nachev, Milen; Sures, Bernd

doi:10.1016/j.seares.2015.06.005

Cited by 61 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Most Contracaecum sp. larvae analyzed in the present study were collected from the intestine and body cavity, which are sites that typically exhibit the highest metal absorption rates by parasites (Nachev and Sures, 2015;Sures et al, 1999a). This may explain the higher concentrations of these elements in the parasites than in host tissues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contracaecum sp. parasitizing Acestrorhynchus lacustris as a bioindicator for metal pollution in the Batalha River, southeast Brazil

Leite

Pedro

Azevedo

et al. 2017

Science of The Total Environment

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Pollution in aquatic ecosystems due to negative human activities remains a problem in both freshwater and marine environments and is an ongoing subject of research. Several studies have shown that some fish parasites can be used as a tool for biomonitoring because they demonstrate higher metal accumulation capacity compared to their host tissues. However, compared to acanthocephalans, information regarding the absorption mechanisms and accumulation rates in nematodes is relatively limited. Here, we evaluated the potential of larvae Contracaecum sp. (L3) as indicators of contamination by metals by analyzing thirteen element concentrations: magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), barium (Ba), and lead (Pb) in the parasites and host Acestrorhynchus lacustris, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Twelve of the thirteen analyzed elements were detected in at least 2-fold higher concentrations (e.g. Ni) and were up to approximately 50-fold higher (e.g. Pb) in parasites than in host tissues, including elements known for their high toxicity (As, Cd, Pb) and those considered to be essential (Cu and Zn). Our results suggest that Contracaecum sp. larvae can be used as bioindicators of metal contamination because even in early stages of development, numerous essential and non-essential elements were accumulated, making this system a useful tool for monitoring polluted environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contracaecum sp. parasitizing Acestrorhynchus lacustris as a bioindicator for metal pollution in the Batalha River, southeast Brazil

Leite

Pedro

Azevedo

et al. 2017

Science of The Total Environment

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“…The use of parasites as accumulation indicators specifically addresses the questions if and how parasites can be used to indicate the biological availability of certain substances which are commonly accepted to be harmful to the environment. Based on the fact that certain groups of endoparasites are excellent accumulators of toxic metals [ 12 , 16 , 19 ] and selected organic pollutants [ 20 ], one can suggest adding parasites to the list of already existing (free-living) accumulation indicators. As free-living species are usually much easier to work with than parasites, which are hidden in their hosts, good arguments are required to justify parasites as additional accumulation indicators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasite responses to pollution: what we know and where we go in ‘Environmental Parasitology’

et al. 2017

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Environmental parasitology deals with the interactions between parasites and pollutants in the environment. Their sensitivity to pollutants and environmental disturbances makes many parasite taxa useful indicators of environmental health and anthropogenic impact. Over the last 20 years, three main research directions have been shown to be highly promising and relevant, namely parasites as accumulation indicators for selected pollutants, parasites as effect indicators, and the role of parasites interacting with established bioindicators. The current paper focuses on the potential use of parasites as indicators of environmental pollution and the interactions with their hosts. By reviewing some of the most recent findings in the field of environmental parasitology, we summarize the current state of the art and try to identify promising ideas for future research directions. In detail, we address the suitability of parasites as accumulation indicators and their possible application to demonstrate biological availability of pollutants; the role of parasites as pollutant sinks; the interaction between parasites and biomarkers focusing on combined effects of parasitism and pollution on the health of their hosts; and the use of parasites as indicators of contaminants and ecosystem health. Therefore, this review highlights the application of parasites as indicators at different biological scales, from the organismal to the ecosystem.

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“…Climate change is expected to affect a wide range of interactions among marine organisms, including interactions between parasites and their hosts (Poulin and Mouritsen 2006;Marcogliese 2008). In general, parasites are widespread in aquatic environments, and often interact with various ecosystem stressors, both at the population and the community level of the hosts they infect (Sures 2008;Nachev and Sures 2015;Vidal-Martínez and Wunderlich 2017). At the same time, parasites have been shown to have profound impacts on aquatic ecosystems by numerous direct and indirect effects on host populations and communities (Mouritsen and Poulin 2009;Sures et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freshening rather than warming drives trematode transmission from periwinkles to mussels

et al. 2020

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In the Western Baltic Sea, climate change is happening at much faster rate than in most other seas and organisms are additionally exposed to a steep and variable salinity gradient. Climate change has previously been shown to affect parasite transmission in other marine ecosystems, yet little is known about potential effects of warming and desalination on parasite-host interactions. In laboratory experiments, we determined the combined effects of projected seawater warming and freshening on the emergence, activity, survival, and infectivity of cercariae (free-swimming infectious stage) of the trematode Himasthla elongata (Mehlis 1831), shed from its first intermediate host, the periwinkle Littorina littorea (Linnaeus 1758), in the Baltic Sea. We also assessed the susceptibility of the second intermediate host, the mussel Mytilus edulis Linnaeus, 1758, to cercarial infections. Generally, salinity was the main driver, particularly of cercarial activity, infectivity, and mussel susceptibility to infection. At the lowest salinity (13), cercariae were 50% less active compared to the highest salinity (19). Infection success and host susceptibility followed a similar pattern, with 47% and 43% less metacercariae (encysted stage) present at salinity 13 than at salinity 19, respectively. In contrast, effects of simulated warming were found only for cercarial survival, with cercarial longevity being higher at 19 than at 23 °C. No significant interactions between temperature and salinity were found. In contrast to the literature, the results suggest that a climate change-driven freshening (partly also warming) may lead to a general decline of marine trematodes, with possible beneficial effects for the involved hosts.

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Environmental parasitology: Parasites as accumulation bioindicators in the marine environment

Cited by 61 publications

References 60 publications

Contracaecum sp. parasitizing Acestrorhynchus lacustris as a bioindicator for metal pollution in the Batalha River, southeast Brazil

Contracaecum sp. parasitizing Acestrorhynchus lacustris as a bioindicator for metal pollution in the Batalha River, southeast Brazil

Parasite responses to pollution: what we know and where we go in ‘Environmental Parasitology’

Freshening rather than warming drives trematode transmission from periwinkles to mussels

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