Puthiya Veettil Nisha, Puthiyakandy Janardhanan Jithila, Puthanpurayil Kandambeth Prasadan.
Ann Parasitol. 2021;67(4):741-748. doi: 10.17420/ap6704.391.
Studies on distribution of parasites are important to reveal the ecology of host-parasites interactions. The objective of the study was to compare the variations in heterophyid encysted metacercariae (EMC) infection in freshwater and brackishwater fish hosts and variation in parasitological descriptors of metacercariae infection during different seasons. The status of infection with heterophyid EMCs in the second intermediate host fishes from brackishand freshwater resources was investigated. Seasonal changes in the occurrence of EMCs in different fish hosts were monitored in a longitudinal field survey lasting 12 months from June 2018 to May 2019. Distribution of heterophyid EMCs was found varied in freshwater and brackishwater fishes with higher prevalence in brackishwater fish. There was a distinct seasonal trend in the prevalence of infection for all heterophyid EMCs in the brackishwater fish examined with high burden during summer. Thus variations in parasitic infection among hosts underpin the importance of parasites as an evolutionary or ecological force.
寄生虫的分布研究对于揭示宿主-寄生虫相互作用的生态学具有重要意义。本研究旨在比较淡水和半咸水鱼类宿主中异形科包囊后尾蚴（EMC）感染的变化，以及不同季节中包囊后尾蚴感染的寄生虫学描述符的变化。调查了来自半咸水和淡水资源的第二中间宿主鱼类中异形科 EMC 的感染状况。在 2018 年 6 月至 2019 年 5 月持续 12 个月的纵向实地调查中，监测了不同鱼类宿主中 EMC 发生的季节性变化。在调查的半咸水鱼类中，异形科 EMC 的分布在淡水和半咸水鱼类中存在差异，半咸水鱼类的感染率较高。在所检查的半咸水鱼类中，所有异形科 EMC 的感染率均呈现明显的季节性趋势，夏季感染负担较高。因此，宿主之间寄生虫感染的差异突显了寄生虫作为一种进化或生态力量的重要性。
