Digenean trematodes–marine mollusc relationships: a stable isotope study

Dubois, Stanislas; Savoye, Nicolas; Sauriau, Pierre-Guy; Billy, Isabelle; Martinez, Philippe; Montaudouin, Xavier de

doi:10.3354/dao2022

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Similarly, the δ 15 N isotopic signatures of the hepatopancreas (the site of trematode growth and replication) in Lymnaea stagnalis were higher than the hepatopancreas from uninfected individuals, and more closely resembled the enriched δ 15 N found in the parasite tissues (Doi et al., ). In contrast, parasite δ 15 N tissues were lower than that of the bivalve cockle ( Cerastoderma edule ) and gastropod dogwhelk ( Nassarius reticulatus ) hosts (Dubois et al., ), which is similar to the relatively low N content of parasites to snail host found in our study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Parasite and host elemental content and parasite effects on host nutrient excretion and metabolic rate

Chodkowski

Bernot

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Ecological stoichiometry uses the mass balance of elements to predict energy and elemental fluxes across different levels of ecological organization. A specific prediction of ecological stoichiometry is the growth rate hypothesis (GRH), which states that organisms with faster growth or reproductive rates will require higher phosphorus content for nucleic acid and protein synthesis. Although parasites are found ubiquitously throughout ecosystems, little is understood about how they affect nutrient imbalances in ecosystems. We (1) tested the GRH by determining the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) content of parasitic trematodes and their intermediate host, the freshwater snail Elimia livescens, and (2) used this framework to determine the trematode effects on host nutrient excretion and metabolism. Snail and parasite tissues were analyzed for elemental content using a CHN analyzer and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) methods. Ammonium and SRP assays were used to estimate N and P excretion rates. A respirometer was used to calculate individual snail metabolism. Trematode tissues contained lower C:P and N:P (more P per unit C and N) than the snail tissues. Snail gonadal tissues more closely resembled the elemental content of parasite tissues, although P content was 13% higher in the gonad than the trematode tissues. Despite differences in elemental content, N and P excretion rates of snails were not affected by the presence of parasites. Parasitized snails maintained faster metabolic rates than nonparasitized snails. However, the species of parasite did not affect metabolic rate. Together, this elemental imbalance between parasite and host, and the altered metabolic rate of infected snails may lead to broader parasite effects in stream ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Parasite and host elemental content and parasite effects on host nutrient excretion and metabolic rate

Chodkowski

Bernot

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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“…The contrasting results have been explained by differences in life cycles or feeding sites and modes of parasites (Deudero, Pinnegar & Polunin, ). Only a handful of studies have measured the effect of parasite infection on isotope values of the host, and in most cases, the observed changes in host isotopic composition have been attributable to parasite‐induced changes in habitat selection and/or feeding behaviour of the host (Miura et al ., ; Britton, Pegg & Williams, ; Sanchez et al ., ), or measurements have been made from samples collected directly from nature with no information on host diet composition (Dubois et al ., ). However, because parasites feed on host tissues or consume host nutrients, and thus disturb metabolism and other physiological functions of the host, they could be expected to have a direct effect on host stable‐isotope composition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The data on the isotope composition of parasites as compared to hosts and on the effects of parasites on the isotope composition of their hosts are controversial. The studies assessing the isotopic composition of parasites in relation to that of the host or the host tissue in which the parasite resides show no universal trend to either depletion or enrichment in isotope values (Lafferty et al ., ; Dubois et al ., ; Gomez‐Diaz & Gonzalez‐Solis, ; Eloranta et al ., ). The contrasting results have been explained by differences in life cycles or feeding sites and modes of parasites (Deudero, Pinnegar & Polunin, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasite infection alters host stable‐isotope composition under controlled feeding

2016

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Summary Stable isotopes are widely used for studying trophic relationships, but variation driven by environmental conditions or food availability complicates the interpretation of trophic dynamics. Parasites are ubiquitous and known to affect physiological functions of their hosts, but only few studies have assessed the effects of parasites on isotope composition of hosts. We measured the changes in two of the most commonly used stable isotopes in food‐web studies, nitrogen (i.e. 15N:14N ratio; denoted as δ15N) and carbon (13C:12C; δ13C) in Daphnia hosts exposed to infection by a parasitic micosporidian in the laboratory. Isotopic signatures of hosts fed a standardised controlled diet were compared with uninfected animals under conditions of high food availability and under food limitation. Parasite infection led to enriched δ15N and δ13C values that were associated with decreased growth and decreased lipid content, indicating energy limitation comparable to that in food‐limited animals. However, enrichment in 13C values was apparent sooner in infected well‐fed animals than in the food‐limited animals, suggesting strong parasite‐induced effects on host C‐metabolism. By using experimental exposure to parasite infection and a standardised diet, our study excluded the effects of changes in food sources via parasite‐induced altered habitat or feeding behaviour on host isotope composition and demonstrated for the first time that parasite infection directly alters the isotopic values of the host. Our study demonstrates that parasite‐induced changes in isotope values may add to the variability in the estimates of the contribution of each food type assimilated by consumers, and thus should be taken into account during investigations of trophic relationships and food webs.

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“…Although much work has been done to determine ID values of different groups of organisms over the past decade, and to study the factors that could influence their variation within and among species (Caut et al, 2009), information on ID in parasite -host systems is still very scarce (Dubois et al, 2009). General findings suggest that, in comparison to the conventional positive enrichment in consumers (Caut et al, 2009), endoparasites apparently have depleted N and C isotopic values in comparison to those of their hosts, resulting in negative ID values for this group of parasites (Pinnegar et al, 2001;Persson et al, 2007;Dubois et al, 2009; but see Doucett et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ID values may be influenced by aspects directly related to the quality of the resources consumed by the consumer (i.e. Pearson et al, 2003;Robbins et al, 2005;Dubois et al, 2009) which, in this case, is directly determined by the nutritional state of the host. For this reason, we also tested the effect of three important parameters directly related to the nutritional state of the host (host size, host sex and parasite intensity) on ID values, and we illustrate how the trophic relationships of C. monstrosa and G. urna could vary by applying different ID values.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic discrimination of stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and carbon (δ¹³C) in a host-specific holocephalan tapeworm

et al. 2013

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During the past decade, parasites have been considered important components of their ecosystems since they can modify food-web structures and functioning. One constraint to the inclusion of parasites in food-web models is the scarcity of available information on their feeding habits and host-parasite relationships. The stable isotope approach is suggested as a useful methodology to determine the trophic position and feeding habits of parasites. However, the isotopic approach is limited by the lack of information on the isotopic discrimination (ID) values of parasites, which is pivotal to avoiding the biased interpretation of isotopic results. In the present study we aimed to provide the first ID values of δ(15)N and δ(13)C between the gyrocotylidean tapeworm Gyrocotyle urna and its definitive host, the holocephalan Chimaera monstrosa. We also test the effect of host body size (body length and body mass) and sex of the host on the ID values. Finally, we illustrate how the trophic relationships of the fish host C. monstrosa and the tapeworm G. urna could vary relative to ID values. Similar to other studies with parasites, the ID values of the parasite-host system were negative for both isotopic values of N (Δδ(15)N = - 3.33 ± 0.63‰) and C (Δδ(13)C = - 1.32 ± 0.65‰), independent of the sex and size of the host. By comparing the specific ID obtained here with ID from other studies, we illustrate the importance of using specific ID in parasite-host systems to avoid potential errors in the interpretation of the results when surrogate values from similar systems or organisms are used.

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Digenean trematodes–marine mollusc relationships: a stable isotope study

Cited by 23 publications

References 50 publications

Parasite and host elemental content and parasite effects on host nutrient excretion and metabolic rate

Parasite and host elemental content and parasite effects on host nutrient excretion and metabolic rate

Parasite infection alters host stable‐isotope composition under controlled feeding

Isotopic discrimination of stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and carbon (δ¹³C) in a host-specific holocephalan tapeworm

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Digenean trematodes–marine mollusc relationships: a stable isotope study

Cited by 23 publications

References 50 publications

Parasite and host elemental content and parasite effects on host nutrient excretion and metabolic rate

Parasite and host elemental content and parasite effects on host nutrient excretion and metabolic rate

Parasite infection alters host stable‐isotope composition under controlled feeding

Isotopic discrimination of stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) in a host-specific holocephalan tapeworm

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Product

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About

Isotopic discrimination of stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and carbon (δ¹³C) in a host-specific holocephalan tapeworm