Influence of aqueous sediment extracts from the Oder River (Germany/Poland) on survival of Diplostomum sp. (Trematoda: Diplostomidae) cercariae.
Laboratory experiments were carried out to test whether the life span of Diplostomum sp. cercariae is affected by contamination of its aquatic environment. Freshly emerged cercariae therefore were exposed to either standardized water, Oder River (Germany/Poland) or Lake Odersee (Germany) extracts of aqueous sediments; mortality patterns and mean survival times (MSTs) were compared. Cercariae added to extracts of aqueous sediments from the Oder River and Lake Odersee exhibited impaired survival with significantly different mortality pattern and reduced MST compared to that of controls. A significant negative correlation (r = -0.843, p < 0.05) was found between MST and mercury content of sediments, indicating a potential impact of mercury on survival of Diplostomum sp. cercariae. The results indicate that contamination of freshwater habitats may influence the viability of free-living transmission stages of helminth parasites of fish and may thus be of epizootiological significance.
Pietrock
M
M
Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany. michael.pietrock@ec.gc.ca
Meinelt
T
T
Marcogliese
D J
DJ
Steinberg
C E
CE
D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D008628:Mercury / Q000633:toxicity*; D010271:Parasites; D011157:Population Dynamics; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014200:Trematoda; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury