Cercariae of the digenean Plagiorchis noblei penetrate and kill a variety of aquatic larval dipterans. The present study determined whether these parasites can infect blackfly larvae, and established what biotic and abiotic factors affect parasite acquisition and the survival of infected hosts in the laboratory. Four species of blackfly larvae, Prosimulium mixtum, Simulium vittatum, S. decorum, and Stegopterna mutata, were exposed to cercariae in flowing water. Prevalence and intensity of infection of all species varied directly with exposure intensity and decreased with increasing water velocity, prevalence increased with larval size. Infection levels were higher for P. mixtum. The production of silk strands by the blackfly larvae and their persistence at low water velocities may facilitate parasite acquisition. Mortality among infected larvae of all species was three times that of controls. The data suggest that exposure to P. noblei cercariae adversely affected the survival of blackfly larvae.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.60532 |
| Date | January 1991 |
| Creators | Jacobs, Philippe, 1961- |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Institute of Parasitology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001245997, proquestno: AAIMM72105, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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