Parasites and global warming: net effects of temperature on an intertidal host–parasite system

Studer, Anja S; Thieltges, David W.; Poulin, Robert

doi:10.3354/meps08742

Cited by 143 publications

(149 citation statements)

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“…The transmission process from snails to, for example, amphipods is particularly sensitive to temperature: transmission pressure up to an optimum temperature level increases mainly due to larger numbers of cercariae being produced and emerging into the environment (Studer et al 2010). Within a second intermediate crustacean host, the parasite (metacercaria) develops into a mature cyst stage, a process which is also highly temperature dependent (Studer et al 2010). The final transmission event occurs when a crustacean harbouring mature cysts is ingested by a definitive bird host.…”

Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…unusually high cercarial densities) under exceptional circumstances, such as heat waves, are likely and may lead to unusual mortalities. The additional direct negative effect of high temperatures on amphipod survival (Studer et al 2010) may also contribute to such mortality events.This risk is particularly pronounced for amphipods inhabiting mid-to upper shore areas (Bates et al 2010). Amphipods at low shore heights, not considered in the present study, should have a much lower risk and thus may function as a source for the upper shore component of the population of a particular mudflat.…”

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Seasonal dynamics in an intertidal mudflat: the case of a complex trematode life cycle

Studer¹,

Poulin²

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Seasonal fluctuations of host densities and environmental factors are common in many ecosystems and have consequences for biotic interactions, such as the transmission of parasites and pathogens. Here, we investigated seasonal patterns in all host stages associated with the complex life cycle of the intertidal trematode Maritrema novaezealandensis on a mudflat where this parasite's prevalence is known to be high (Lower Portobello Bay, Otago Harbour, New Zealand). The first intermediate snail host Zeacumantus subcarinatus, a key second intermediate crustacean host, the amphipod Paracalliope novizealandiae, and definitive bird hosts were included in the study. The density (snails, amphipods), abundance (birds), prevalence, i.e. percentage of infected individuals, and infection intensity (snails, amphipods) of the studied organisms were assessed. Furthermore, temperature was recorded in tide pools, where transmission mainly occurs, over a 1 yr period. Overall, the trematode prevalence in snail hosts was 64.5%, with 88.4% of infected snails harbouring M. novaezealandensis. There was a strong seasonal signal in prevalence and infection intensity in second intermediate amphipod hosts, with peaks for both parameters in summer (over 90% infected; infection intensity: 1 to 202 parasites per amphipod). This peak coincided with the highest abundance of definitive bird hosts and of small and still uninfected snails present on the mudflat. Our observations indicate that all of the transmission events necessary to complete the complex life cycle of this parasite primarily occur during warmer months. KEY WORDS: Seasonality · Parasite transmission · Host -parasite interactions · Temperature · Maritrema novaezealandensis · Paracalliope novizealandiae · Zeacumantus subcarinatus Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 455: [79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93] 2012 1995, Wilson et al. 2002). In intertidal ecosystems, the extent of environmental fluctuations is inherently pronounced. Trematode parasites are very common and highly influential components of these ecosystems and usually have complex life cycles involving several members of an intertidal community. Trematodes have been shown to play crucial roles in host population dynamics as well as community and food web structures (e.g. Lauckner 1984, Sousa 1991, Mouritsen & Poulin 2002b, Thompson et al. 2005, Wood et al. 2007, Mouritsen & Poulin 2010, and they constitute a considerable and highly underestimated amount of biomass in natural systems (Kuris et al. 2008).Infection levels of trematodes in intertidal host populations substantially differ not only spatially (e.g. Smith 2001, Kube et al. 2002a, Latham & Poulin 2003, Hechinger & Lafferty 2005, Byers et al. 2008) but also temporally (e.g. Hughes & Answer 1982, Lauck ner 1987, Meißner & Bick 1997, Al-Kandari et al. 2000, Kube et al. 2002b, Jen sen et al. 2004, Al-Kandari et al. 2007). Many aspects of the transmission of trematodes ar...

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Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Seasonal dynamics in an intertidal mudflat: the case of a complex trematode life cycle

Studer¹,

Poulin²

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…In ectothermic animals, such as fish, the activity and efficiency of their immune systems is strongly temperature dependent (Ellis 2001). At the same time, metabolic rates and virulence traits of parasites are influenced and temperature is thought to be a strong modifier of host-parasite interactions (Lazzaro & Little 2009;Studer, Thieltges & Poulin 2010;Landis et al 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

Heat and immunity: an experimental heat wave alters immune functions in three‐spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Dittmar

Janssen

Kuske

et al. 2014

Journal of Animal Ecology

127

110

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Summary 1.Global climate change is predicted to lead to increased temperatures and more extreme climatic events. This may influence host-parasite interactions, immunity and therefore the impact of infectious diseases on ecosystems. However, little is known about the effects of rising temperatures on immune defence, in particular in ectothermic animals, where the immune system is directly exposed to external temperature change. 2. Fish are ideal models for studying the effect of temperature on immunity, because they are poikilothermic, but possess a complete vertebrate immune system with both innate and adaptive immunity. We used three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) originating from a stream and a pond, whereby the latter supposedly were adapted to higher temperature variation. We studied the effect of increasing and decreasing temperatures and a simulated heat wave with subsequent recovery on body condition and immune parameters. 3. We hypothesized that the immune system might be less active at low temperatures, but will be even more suppressed at temperatures towards the upper tolerable temperature range. 4. Contrary to our expectation, we found innate and adaptive immune activity to be highest at a temperature as low as 13°C. Exposure to a simulated heat wave induced long-lasting immune disorders, in particular in a stickleback population that might be less adapted to temperature variation in its natural environment. 5. The results show that the activity of the immune system of an ectothermic animal species is temperature dependent and suggest that heat waves associated with global warming may immunocompromise host species, thereby potentially facilitating the spread of infectious diseases.

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“…The production and emergence of their free-living infective stages (cercariae) in the first intermediate hosts (mollusks) is strongly positively correlated with temperature (see review by Poulin 2006). At the same time, the infectivity of cercariae in the down-stream second intermediate hosts (invertebrates or fish, depending on the species) is also positively correlated with temperature (e.g., Evans 1985, Thieltges and Rick 2006, Studer et al 2010. Since cercarial transmission is a crucial step in the trematode life cycle, it has been proposed that global warming might dramatically increase future infection levels in hosts (Marcogliese 2001, Poulin 2006, Poulin and Mouritsen 2006.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and parasite transmission: how temperature affects parasite infectivity via predation on infective stages

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Climate change is expected to affect disease risk in many parasite-host systems, e.g., via an effect of temperature on infectivity (temperature effects). However, recent studies indicate that ambient communities can lower disease risk for hosts, for instance via predation on free-living stages of parasites (predation effect). Since general physiological theory suggests predation effects to be temperaturedependent, we hypothesized that increases in temperature may lead to reduced parasite infectivity via elevated consumption rates of free-living parasite stages (temperature-predation interaction). We experimentally investigated such interactions in three marine predators of infective parasite stages. Two species (the oyster Crassostrea gigas, and the barnacle Austrominius modestus) significantly reduced cercarial stages of the trematode Renicola roscovita in mussel hosts (Mytilus edulis), while the third (the crab Hemigrapsus takanoi ) did not show a reduction of infective stages at all. In barnacles, cercarial consumption significantly interacted with temperature, with lowest infectivity at highest temperatures. Since these patterns reflected the known thermal responses of the three cercarial predators' feeding rates, parasite consumption rates may be predictable from temperature dependent feeding rates. Our results suggest that integrating temperature-predation interactions into studies on parasite transmission and on climate change effects is essential and that predators of free-living stages of parasites may play an important role in indirectly mediating disease risk under climate change.

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Parasites and global warming: net effects of temperature on an intertidal host–parasite system

Cited by 143 publications

References 40 publications

Seasonal dynamics in an intertidal mudflat: the case of a complex trematode life cycle

Seasonal dynamics in an intertidal mudflat: the case of a complex trematode life cycle

Heat and immunity: an experimental heat wave alters immune functions in three‐spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Climate change and parasite transmission: how temperature affects parasite infectivity via predation on infective stages

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