Servants, scoundrels, and hitchhikers: current understanding of the complex interactions between crayfish and their ectosymbiotic worms (Branchiobdellida)

Skelton, James; Farrell, Kaitlin J.; Creed, Robert P.; Williams, Bronwyn W.; Ames, Catlin W.; Helms, Brian S.; Stoekel, James; Brown, Bryan L.

doi:10.1899/12-198.1

Cited by 43 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(132 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is a question whether these two species came into physical contact enabling host switching, or there N o n -c o m m e r c i a l u s e o n l y could still be host preferences or other reasons, e.g. different activity, grooming behaviour, encounter of predators (Skelton et al, 2013;Farrell et al, 2014;Skelton et al, 2015). Nonetheless, the high infestation of A. astacus was most likely caused by decreasing numbers of this species, which had been dying of crayfish plague.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Native European branchiobdellids on non-native crayfishes: Report from the Czech Republic

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Invasive alien species present a global threat to biodiversity, particularly where pathogens and symbionts are involved. Nonnative crayfish species can increase their impact on the host ecosystem through introductions of symbiotic fauna. Conversely, nonnative crayfishes could serve as hosts for native epibionts, thus substituting for disappearing native crayfishes as well. Here we report the presence of native branchiobdellids on naturalized populations of non-native crayfish Orconectes limosus and Pacifastacus leniusculus living in sympatry with native Astacus astacus. The native crayfish species probably served as a source of Branchiobdella spp. for non-native crayfishes. Two species of Branchiobdella (B. parasita and B. pentadonta) were found on P. leniusculus while only B. parasita was found on O. limosus. The level of colonization of inspected specimens and species was also evaluated. The mean number of branchiobdellids found on P. leniusculus and O. limosus was 26.0±15.9, and 64.8±27.7, respectively. Orconectes limosus was more heavily colonized by Branchiobdella despite being significantly smaller than P. leniusculus. Non-native species were corroborated as suitable to host the native epibionts.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Native European branchiobdellids on non-native crayfishes: Report from the Czech Republic

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These adhesive organs allow branchiobdellidans to tightly attach to their host, but also easily release their grip and move freely across their host's body. Branchiobdellidans have a simple life history with no free-living stage, and available evidence indicates that branchiobdellidans are obligate symbionts with no free-living forms because they require a host to reproduce and require host-host contact for transmission [29,31,32].…”

Section: Materials and Methods (A) Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

A symbiont's dispersal strategy: condition-dependent dispersal underlies predictable variation in direct transmission among hosts

2015

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Direct horizontal transmission of pathogenic and mutualistic symbionts has profound consequences for host and symbiont fitness alike. While the importance of contact rates for transmission is widely recognized, the processes that underlie variation in transmission during contact are rarely considered. Here, we took a symbiont's perspective of transmission as a form of dispersal and adopted the concept of condition-dependent dispersal strategies from the study of free-living organisms to understand and predict variation in transmission in the cleaning symbiosis between crayfish and ectosymbiotic branchiobdellidan worms. Field study showed that symbiont reproductive success was correlated with host size and competition among worms for microhabitats. Laboratory experiments demonstrated high variability in transmission among host contacts. Moreover, symbionts were more likely to disperse when host size and competition for microhabitat created a fitness environment below a discrete minimum threshold. A predictive model based on a condition-dependent symbiont dispersal strategy correctly predicted transmission in 95% of experimental host encounters and the exact magnitude of transmission in 67%, both significantly better than predictions that assumed a fixed transmission rate. Our work provides a dispersalbased understanding of symbiont transmission and suggests adaptive symbiont dispersal strategies can explain variation in transmission dynamics and complex patterns of host infection.

show abstract

“…As monoxenous species, they have no requirement for an intermediate host (Taraschewski, 2006) and are directly transmitted between crayfish (Govedich et al, 2009). Furthermore, branchiobdellidans appear to be generalists with respect to host species (Skelton et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies indicate that the crayfish-branchiobdellidan association can vary from mutualistic to parasitic (reviewed by Skelton et al, 2013). Therefore, these symbionts could influence the invasion success of non-native crayfish either beneficially or detrimentally.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the invasion potential of non-native branchiobdellidans: experimental studies of survival, reproduction and competition

James

Davidson

Hunt

et al. 2017

Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-The impact of invasive species on the recipient ecosystem can be strongly influenced by the presence of associated symbionts. It is therefore important to evaluate the likelihood of co-introduced symbiont establishment, and this requires an understanding of their life history traits. Here, we investigate survival, reproduction and competition in two non-native branchiobdellidan ectosymbionts (Xironogiton victoriensis and Cambarincola aff. okadai) on invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). In vivo, X. victoriensis established viable infrapopulations within 10 weeks, whereas C. aff. okadai went extinct within 2 weeks. Both X. victoriensis and C. aff. okadai deposited cocoons in vivo that hatched in 10-27 and 10-11 days, respectively. In vitro, X. victoriensis and C. aff. okadai survived for over 13 and 15 weeks respectively, although both were negatively affected by increased temperature and nitrate, and were absent from kick samples taken in the field. Only C. aff. okadai deposited cocoons in vitro, and this larger species readily predated on X. victoriensis but not vice versa. Both branchiobdellidans possess traits associated with colonisation success, including a relatively fast reproductive rate and extended off-host survival. Given its survival in vivo and known detrimental effect on signal crayfish X. victoriensis is perhaps more likely to influence host invasion dynamics, although its persistence may be affected by the presence of co-occurring symbionts.Keywords: invasive non-native species / invasive parasites / climate change / signal crayfish / Xironogiton victoriensis Résumé -Évaluation du potentiel invasif de Branchiobdellidés non indigènes : études expérimentales de survie, de reproduction et de compétition. L'impact des espèces envahissantes sur l'écosystème récepteur peut être fortement influencé par la présence de symbiotes associés. Il est donc important d'évaluer la probabilité d'un établissement de symbiotes co-introduits, ce qui nécessite une compréhension de leurs traits d'histoire de vie. Ici, nous étudions la survie, la reproduction et la compétition de deux ectosymbiontes branchiobdellidés non indigènes (Xironogiton victoriensis et Cambarincola aff. okadai) sur l'écrevisse signal invasive (Pacifastacus leniusculus). In vivo, X. victoriensis a établi des infrapopulations viables en 10 semaines, alors que C. aff. okadai s'est éteint dans les 2 semaines. X. victoriensis et C. aff. okadai ont déposé des cocons in vivo qui ont éclos en 10-27 et 10-11 jours respectivement. In vitro, X. victoriensis et C. aff. okadai ont survécu pendant plus de 13 et 15 semaines respectivement, bien que les deux aient été affectés négativement par l'augmentation de la température et du nitrate, et étaient absents des prélèvements prélevés sur le terrain. Seul C. aff. okadai a déposé des cocons in vitro, et cette espèce plus grande était prédateur sur X. victoriensis mais pas l'inverse. Les deux branchiobdellidés possèdent des traits associés à la réussite de la colonisation, y compris un tau...

show abstract

Servants, scoundrels, and hitchhikers: current understanding of the complex interactions between crayfish and their ectosymbiotic worms (Branchiobdellida)

Cited by 43 publications

References 83 publications

Native European branchiobdellids on non-native crayfishes: Report from the Czech Republic

Native European branchiobdellids on non-native crayfishes: Report from the Czech Republic

A symbiont's dispersal strategy: condition-dependent dispersal underlies predictable variation in direct transmission among hosts

Assessing the invasion potential of non-native branchiobdellidans: experimental studies of survival, reproduction and competition

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About