Intermediate host patterns of acanthocephalans in the Weser river system: co-invasion vs host capture.

ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic interference is a major driver of ecological change in freshwater ecosystems. Pollution and the introduction of new species not only alter macrozoobenthic community structures, but can also affect their respective parasite communities. The ecology of the Weser river system experienced a drastic decline in biodiversity over the past century due to salinization caused by the local potash industry. As a response, the amphipod Gammarus tigrinus was released into the Werra in 1957. A few decades after the introduction and subsequent spread of this North American species, its natural acanthocephalan Paratenuisentis ambiguus was recorded in the Weser in 1988, where it had captured the European eel Anguilla anguilla as a novel host. To assess the recent ecologica

SUBMITTER: Vogel S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10089806 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature