R. Matthews, C. Simmons, Tyler L. Brock, E. Bewick, Kaitlin A. Norman, C. Camp
{"title":"Host Specificity in the Appalachian Leech Placobdella biannulata","authors":"R. Matthews, C. Simmons, Tyler L. Brock, E. Bewick, Kaitlin A. Norman, C. Camp","doi":"10.1654/1525-2647-86.2.161","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The Appalachian leech Placobdella biannulata is a presumed host generalist for an array of amphibian species. One species commonly parasitized by this leech is the salamander Desmognathus quadramaculatus because of its semiaquatic nature and relatively large size. We tested the null hypothesis that this leech species exhibits equal prevalence in large species of Desmognathus with the same level of aquatic tendency. We compared leech prevalence between D. quadramaculatus and sympatric Desmognathus folkertsi, which has the same extent of aquatic tendency. While smaller than D. quadramaculatus, D. folkertsi is still among the largest members of the genus. We found leech parasitism on 38/182 (21%) D. quadramaculatus from 2 different streams. Only 3 D. folkertsi out of 179 (<2%) from the same streams were parasitized. We concluded that the leech P. biannulata is more host specific than previously believed.","PeriodicalId":50655,"journal":{"name":"Comparative Parasitology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2019-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Comparative Parasitology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1654/1525-2647-86.2.161","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PARASITOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
The Appalachian leech Placobdella biannulata is a presumed host generalist for an array of amphibian species. One species commonly parasitized by this leech is the salamander Desmognathus quadramaculatus because of its semiaquatic nature and relatively large size. We tested the null hypothesis that this leech species exhibits equal prevalence in large species of Desmognathus with the same level of aquatic tendency. We compared leech prevalence between D. quadramaculatus and sympatric Desmognathus folkertsi, which has the same extent of aquatic tendency. While smaller than D. quadramaculatus, D. folkertsi is still among the largest members of the genus. We found leech parasitism on 38/182 (21%) D. quadramaculatus from 2 different streams. Only 3 D. folkertsi out of 179 (<2%) from the same streams were parasitized. We concluded that the leech P. biannulata is more host specific than previously believed.
期刊介绍:
Comparative Parasitology (continuing the Journal of the Helminthological Society of Washington in its 67th volume) focuses on parasitological research of a comparative nature, emphasizing taxonomy, systematics, ecology, biogeography, evolution, faunal survey, and biological inventory within a morphological and/or molecular context. The scope of Comparative Parasitology extends to all parasitic faunas, including helminths, protistans and arthropods.