Flamingolepis liguloides
| Flamingolepis liguloides | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
| Class: | Cestoda |
| Order: | Cyclophyllidea |
| Family: | Hymenolepididae |
| Genus: | Flamingolepis Gervais, 1847 [1] |
| Species | |
| |
Flamingolepis liguloides is a parasitic tapeworm of the Cestoda class. There are several tapeworms that are found to infect the Artemia spp.; however, F. liguloides is the most prevalent species of infectious tapeworm among the Artemia spp. F. liguloides infects brine shrimp (Artemia) as the intermediate host and flamingos as the definitive host. Effects of the tapeworm in flamingos is unclear, though researchers hypothesize that a high parasitemia could potentially be deadly to the host. The parasite appears to affect the Artemia spp. as it alters the behavior and color of its host.[2]
Life cycle
Artemia spp. can reproduce both sexually and asexually. The life cycle of F. liguloides begins by Artemia ingesting the cestode larva, called oncosphere. It then penetrates the intestinal wall into the hemocoel where it becomes a cysticercoid, or larva with a scolex. The larva reaches maturity in the digestive tract of the flamingo (definitive host). Adult parasites produce eggs, which are released in the feces and into the environment.[3]
Behavioral manipulation
When infected, the larva changes the color of the shrimp from transparent to red, making them more susceptible to avian predators. Parasitic castration is also observed in the Artemia spp.[4][5]
In a study conducted by Rode and Lievens, two species of Artemia that are found to congregate in swarms have coinfections of two microsporidian fungi and the F. liguloides tapeworm. Observing this unusual behavior, they hypothesize that the shrimps are being manipulated by the parasite which makes them easier to spot by flamingos, which are the parasite’s definitive host. Each shrimp is one centimeter in length, but when gathered, the swarms can stretch up to two meters. Using the Artemia’s characteristic of high salinity tolerance, the swarms are formed in water that is too salty to be habitable for fish. Rode and Lievens also hypothesize that the parasitic infection increases the shrimps’ lifespan, time spent at the water surface, and that the castration is to prevent the shrimps from spending time with sexual reproduction. These behaviors would contribute to increasing the chance for the infected Artemia to be consumed by flamingos.[6]
References
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Life
- ↑ Yong, Ed. "Parasites Make Their Hosts Sociable So They Get Eaten". Phenomena. National Geographic. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ↑ Amarouayache, Mounia (1 October 2009). "The parasitism of Flamingolepis liguloides (Gervais, 1847) (Cestoda, Hymenolepididae) in Artemia salina (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) in two saline lakes in Algeria" (PDF). Acta Parasitologica. 54 (4): 330–334. doi:10.2478/s11686-009-0049-8. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ↑ Sánchez, Marta (6 March 2013). "High prevalence of cestodes in Artemia spp. throughout the annual cycle: relationship with abundance of avian final hosts". Parasitology Research. 112 (5): 1913–1923. PMID 23463137. doi:10.1007/s00436-013-3347-x.
- ↑ Parasite of the Day
- ↑ Rode, Nicolas (28 January 2013). "Why join groups? Lessons from parasite-manipulated Artemia" (PDF). Ecology Letters. 16 (4): 493–501. doi:10.1111/ele.12074. Retrieved 6 December 2016.