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Science 20 March 1987:
Vol. 235. no. 4795, pp. 1509 - 1511
DOI: 10.1126/science.3823901
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Articles

Science, Vol 235, Issue 4795, 1509-1511
Copyright © 1987 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Vertical distribution of an estuarine snail altered by a parasite

LA Curtis

Estuarine snails Ilyanassa obsoleta bearing larvae of the trematode Gynaecotyla adunca behave singularly in comparison with conspecifics lacking this parasite. Following high tides, and especially at night, infected snails were found stranded high on beaches and sandbars. Semiterrestrial crustaceans living well up on the shore serve as the next host, and the modified (induced) snail behavior is apparently a parasite adaptation facilitating cercarial transmission to these crustaceans. The altered behavior is unusual because of its apparent enhancement of host-to-host transmission by cercariae rather than predation, the process commonly recognized as being enhanced by parasitic modification of host behavior.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The Snail Ilyanassa: A Reemerging Model for Studies in Development.
M. Gharbiah, J. Cooley, E. M. Leise, A. Nakamoto, J. S. Rabinowitz, J. D. Lambert, and L. M. Nagy (2009)
CSH Protocols 2009, pdb.emo120
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Parasites alter host phenotype and may create a new ecological niche for snail hosts.
O. Miura, A. M Kuris, M. E Torchin, R. F Hechinger, and S. Chiba (2006)
Proc R Soc B 273, 1323-1328
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Asexual Reproduction in Pygospio elegans Claparede (Annelida, Polychaeta) in Relation to Parasitism by Lepocreadium setiferoides (Miller and Northup) (Platyhelminthes, Trematoda).
D. G. MCCurdy (2001)
Biol. Bull. 201, 45-51
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)