The Morphology and Behaviour of Cercaria Lata Lesps, 1857 (Digenea, Faustulidae) from the Mediterranean Clam Tapes Decussata (L.)
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See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23481650 The morphology and behaviour of Cercaria lata Lesps, 1857 (Digenea, Faustulidae) from the Mediterranean clam Tapes decussata (L.) Article in Journal of Helminthology · December 2008 DOI: 10.1017/S0022149X08125160 · Source: PubMed CITATIONS READS 10 304 3 authors, including: Lamia Gargouri Najoua Trigui El Menif University of Tunis El Manar University of Carthage 56 PUBLICATIONS 200 CITATIONS 69 PUBLICATIONS 1,061 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Microplastic pollution and toxicity in marine and freshwater environments View project we are working on health status of bivalves of economic interest in the Bizerte lagoon View project All content following this page was uploaded by Lamia Gargouri on 15 July 2016. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Journal of Helminthology (2009) 83, 69–76 doi:10.1017/S0022149X08125160 The morphology and behaviour of Cercaria lata Lespe´s, 1857 (Digenea, Faustulidae) from the Mediterranean clam Tapes decussata (L.) L. Gargouri Ben Abdallah1*, N. Trigui El Menif2 and F. Maamouri1 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Tunis, Tunisia: 2Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Bizerte, Tunisia Abstract Cercaria lata (Digenea, Faustulidae), discovered by Lespe´s (1857) in Tapes decussata (L.) in the basin of Arcachon, was found for the first time, from the eastern Mediterranean, in the same lamellibranch from Tunisia (Bizerte and Tunis lagoons and Gulf of Gabes). These cercariae develop in daughter sporocysts, which develop in mother sporocysts in the gonads. Daughter sporocysts are observed in the gonads and sometimes in the digestive gland. A redescription and the behaviour of the naturally emerging cercariae and spatio-temporal distribution of the sporocysts are reported. A comparative study using multivariate analyses associated with morphology, biology and seasonality confirm the distinctness of Cercaria lata and the cercaria of Cercaria pectinata from Donax trunculus. Introduction Lasiotocus longicystis Bartoli, 1965 (Monorchiidae) and Gymnophallus fossarum Bartoli, 1965 (Gymnophallidae). The clam, Tapes decussata (L.), a common lamellibranch In this paper, we limit our study to the sporocysts and of the Mediterranean coast, has been for centuries a very cercariae of C. lata. As indicated in the literature, this desirable species of high market value. Accordingly, it has cercaria has been generally believed to be the same as the been the subject of many investigations, in particular in others collected from various bivalve hosts. We carried parasitology. This bivalve can shelter various species of out a comparative study with another faustulid cercaria Protozoa and metazoan parasites. Among the Metazoa, found in Donax trunculus which has a strong morpho- digenean parthenitae are the most frequent parasites. This logical similarity to C. lata. mollusc play, a very important role in the life cycle of several of these platyhelminths (Bartoli, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984; Hanafy et al., 1997, Gargouri Ben Materials and methods Abdallah, 2001; Gargouri Ben Abdallah & Maamouri, 2001, 2005; Trigui El Menif et al., 2004). Tapes decussata The study was conducted on T. decussata from the represents the first intermediate host and also, in certain Bizerte (4460 specimens) and Tunis (3790 specimens) cases, the second host. lagoons (north-eastern Tunisia) and the gulf of Gabes During our research on the digenean parthenitae in (1546 specimens) (south-eastern Tunisia). Samples were bivalves found on the Tunisian coasts, we collected collected at approximately monthly intervals. The lagoon four species belonging to four distinct families from of Bizerte, which is of sandy-clay to clay-silt-sandy facies, T. decussata: sporocysts and cercariae of Bucephalus labracis is rather deep (12 m) (Soussi et al., 1983). The lagoon of Paggi and Orecchia, 1965 (Bucephalidae) and Cercaria Tunis, where bottom sediments consist of muddy fine lata Lespe´s, 1857 (Faustulidae); and metacercariae of sand, shelly particles and organic matter, is variable in depth (1–4.5 m) (Jouirou, 1982). The annual mean water temperature of these two lagoons is 18.28C. Annual mean *E-mail: [email protected] salinity is 37.7‰ for the lagoon of Tunis and 34‰ for the 70 L. Gargouri Ben Abdallah et al. lagoon of Bizerte. The gulf of Gabes is characterized by changed into an orange colour when the cercariae sandy-muddy bottom sediments (Amari, 1984), an annual complete their development. No birth pore was observed mean temperature of 20.58C and an annual mean salinity in these sporocysts. However, on one side of the daughter of 38.68‰. sporocyst, a lysed area was detected, the opposite side The lamellibranchs collected were placed in small being perfectly intact (fig. 1b). The emergence of the aquaria, which were examined daily with a binocular cercariae is affected, undoubtedly, by the rupture of the microscope to detect spontaneous cercarial emergence. lysed wall of the daughter sporocyst. The number of Each infected mollusc was then kept in its own daughter sporocysts, which was often very high (exceed- aquarium. The number of cercariae produced daily was ing 500 specimens), caused severe disruption, such as the counted. The experiment was subjected to natural castration or death of the mollusc. The heavily parasitized lighting conditions only, except during the period gonads were completely invaded by the sporocysts and, when cercariae were counted under artificial light. If lacking sexual cells, the determination of the sex of the these examinations appeared negative, after 15 days host was not possible. The death of parasitized molluscs the molluscs were dissected to detect the possible occurred before the total emergence of the cercariae. The presence of young sporocysts. The parasites collected development of the larval stages was, therefore, achieved were studied directly in vivo under a stereomicroscope. at the expense of the parasitized host. The parasite diverts The nomenclature used in the analysis of the the metabolic activities of the mollusc for its own gain. frequencies of the larval-stage parasites according to The´ron et al. (1992) showed that the parasitism of the the seasons and collecting sites follows Margolis et al. mollusc Biomphalaria glabrata by Schistosoma mansoni (1982) and Bush et al. (1997). Sambon, 1907 is not accompanied by an increase of the In order to compare C. lata collected from T. decussata trophic activity of the mollusc, since the high quantity of with another faustulid found in D. trunculus,we energy consumed by the parasite is appropriated from the examined 2062 specimens of the latter bivalve collected mollusc. This capture of energy prevents the survival of from Kalaˆat El Andalous (situated at 35 km to the north- the mollusc. east of Tunis, with sandy facies, mean salinity of 37‰ Similar results were found with Dresseina polymorpha and mean temperature of 18.98C (El Arrim, 1996)). (Pallas, 1771) following their colonization by the The following features of the cercariae were measured sporocysts of Bucephalus polymorphus Baer, 1827 (Vom (mm): body length (BL), body breadth (BB), tail length Scheidt, 1984). In the same way Coustau et al. (1991) (TL), setae bundles length (SBL), length of oral sucker showed that the sporocysts of Prosorhynchus squamatus (LOS), breadth of oral sucker (BOS), length of ventral Odhner, 1905 caused the castration of the mollusc Mytilus sucker (LVS), breadth of ventral sucker (BVS), pharynx edulis Lamark, 1919 by releasing a factor that stimulates length (PL), pharynx breadth (PB), length of oesophagus the mobilization of glycogen and inhibits the division of (OEL), length of caeca (CL). All measurements were sexual cells. transformed by being divided by the body length to remove the effect of the size. Length itself was not used as a variable in the final analysis. The spatio-temporal distribution of the sporocysts To determine the multivariate relationship between In the north-east of Tunisia, molluscs containing 12 variables on 60 cercariae (30 from T. decussata and 30 sporocysts were collected in summer and autumn. In from D. trunculus) a principal components analysis (PCA) the gulf of Gabes, they were absent only in winter. The was applied. highest prevalence of infection was recorded in autumn for the all stations (table 1). However, these larval stages were more frequent in the gulf of Gabes and Results appeared more precociously (table 1). This may be due Sporocysts to the temperature of the water, which is slightly higher in the south of Tunisia. However, the higher Mother sporocysts summer temperature in this area can limit the White sporocysts, sausage-shaped, measuring 2600 mm longevity of the free larval stage (miracidia) and (2100–3800 mm) in length and 361 mm (245–463 mm) in consequently reduce the rate of infestation of molluscs. width, were observed in the gonads of T. decussata. Salinity also seems to influence the prevalence of these Each sporocyst harboured 20–26 immature daughter sporocysts. Indeed, there is a clear correlation between sporocysts and some germinal balls located at the the increase in salinity and the increase in the rate of periphery. No birth pore was observed in the mother parasitism. The lowest prevalence was observed in the sporocysts (fig. 1a). lagoon of Bizerte, prevalence was greater in the lagoon of Tunis and was greatest in the gulf of Gabes, the area with the highest salinity. The hydrodynamism of this Daughter sporocysts locality can also have an impact on the variation of Sporocysts, 2359 mm (1450–3600 mm) long and 337 mm these values. This factor, more important at sea than in (200–420 mm) wide, enclosing cercariae, infected gonadal the lagoons, plays a fundamental role in the displace- tissues and sometimes the digestive gland. The number of ment and the dispersion of the infesting stages and cercariae varied according to the maturation of the thus in their contact with the host.