Toxicity of cadmium and zinc to the cercarial activity of Diplostomum spathaceum (Trematoda: Diplostomidae).
The toxicity of cadmium and zinc at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 100 microg/l was investigated against the activity of Diplostomum spathaceum (Rudolphi, 1819) cercariae. Over a 24 h exposure period a significant reduction in cercarial activity occurred in solutions of cadmium, zinc, and a mixture of cadmium and zinc at all concentrations. Reduced cercarial activity also occurred in all toxicant solutions compared with controls after only 6 h exposure indicating that cercariae were vulnerable during the period of maximum cercarial infectivity (0-5 h). The mechanisms of metal toxicity and their importance to parasite transmission are discussed.
School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK. n.morley@rhul.ac.uk
Neil J
NJ
Morley
Mark
M
Crane
John W
JW
Lewis
D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D008195:Lymnaea / Q000469:parasitology; D014200:Trematoda / Q000187:drug effects*; D015032:Zinc / Q000633:toxicity*
D002104:Cadmium; D015032:Zinc