Invasion of the body snatchers: the role of parasite introduction in host distribution and response to salinity in invaded estuaries.

ABSTRACT: In dynamic systems, organisms are faced with variable selective forces that may impose trade-offs. In estuaries, salinity is a strong driver of organismal diversity, while parasites shape species distributions and demography. We tested for trade-offs between low-salinity stress and parasitism in an invasive castrating parasite and its mud crab host along salinity gradients of two North Carolina rivers. We performed field surveys every six to eight weeks over 3 years to determine factors influencing parasite prevalence, host abundance, and associated taxa diversity. We also looked for signatures of low-salinity stress in the host by examining its response (time-to-right and gene expression) to salinity. We found salinity and temperature significantly affected parasite prevalence, with low-s

SUBMITTER: Blakeslee AMH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8220271 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature