THE INFLUENCE OF CRYPTOCOTYLE-LINGUA (DIGENEA, PLATYHELMINTHES) INFECTIONS ON THE SURVIVAL AND FECUNDITY OF LITTORINA-LITTOREA (GASTROPODA,PROSOBRANCHIA) - AN ECOLOGICAL APPROACH
M. Huxham et al., THE INFLUENCE OF CRYPTOCOTYLE-LINGUA (DIGENEA, PLATYHELMINTHES) INFECTIONS ON THE SURVIVAL AND FECUNDITY OF LITTORINA-LITTOREA (GASTROPODA,PROSOBRANCHIA) - AN ECOLOGICAL APPROACH, Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology, 168(2), 1993, pp. 223-238
This study considers the impact of digenean parasites, especially Cryp
tocotyle lingua (Creplin) on the survival, reproduction, growth rate a
nd foot colour of Littorina littorea (Forbes and Hanley). An 18 month
field experiment demonstrated decreased survivorship of infected snail
s. A laboratory experiment showed a drastic reduction, but not total c
essation, of gamete production in infected females. Infection was foun
d to retard growth and correlate with reduced shell height in some ani
mals. A strong relationship was found between foot colour and infectio
n. The relevance of infection to the population dynamics of L. littore
a on the Ythan, and to the Ythan food web as a whole, is considered.