6533b7d9fe1ef96bd126ce1c

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Infection, specificity and host manipulation of Australapatemon sp. (Trematoda, Strigeidae) in two sympatric species of leeches (Hirudinea)

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SUMMARYFactors that drive parasite specificity and differences in infection dynamics among alternative host species are important for ecology and evolution of host–parasite interactions, but still often poorly known in natural systems. Here, we investigated spatiotemporal dynamics of infection, host susceptibility and parasite-induced changes in host phenotype in a rarely explored host–parasite system, theAustralapatemonsp. trematode infecting two sympatric species of freshwater leeches,Erpobdella octoculataandHelobdella stagnalis. We show significant variation in infection abundance between the host species in both space and time. Using experimental infections, we also show that most of this variation likely comes from interspecific differences in exposure rather than susceptibility. Moreover, we demonstrate that the hiding behaviour ofE. octoculata, but not that ofH. stagnalis, was impaired by the infection irrespective of the parasite abundance. This may increase susceptibility ofE. octoculatato predation by the final avian host. We conclude that differences in patterns of infection and in behavioural alterations among alternative sympatric host species may arise in narrow spatial scales, which emphasises the importance of local infection and transmission dynamics for parasite life cycles.