Bartoli P
Ann Parasitol Hum Comp. 1981;56(1):33-44.
In Gymnophallidae life-cycle, the primary host is very often a Lamelli-branch, rarely a Prosobranch; the second intermediate host is usually a Pelecypod, rarely a Prosobranch or an Annelid. The first host is generally sedentary; consequently, cercariae are not widely spread. The second intermediate host cannot explore all the environment. These characters are not in favour of the parasite. Adaptation of Gymnophallid cycle consists in a very large cercarial productivity (several millions for only one first host). The recruiting modalities of Gymnophallid larvae by the second intermediate host are not always the same. Two different mechanisms have been discovered. The first one consists of a limited recruiting. The number of metacercariae is not always growing up during the host-life. This number depends on the volume of microhabitat. The top number is reached when microhabitat is saturated. The second one consists of a illimited recruiting. The number of parasites increases during all the second host life. This peculiarity is possible because the metacercariae are permanently carried out of the microhabitat where they had settled. Parasites are indeed progressively surrounded by pallial proliferations and become enclosed inside pockets of host tissues. Thus, microhabitat is always free of parasites and infection can go on. There must be a correlation between the mechanism of the recruitment of Gymnophallid larvae by a given second host and the characteristics of the environment where the life cycle unfolds. In confined environment (almost closed lagoons, brackish ponds) the number of cercariae is very large and the recruitment observed is limited. Then, the host-life is preserved. In wide open stations, where hydrodynamism is important, cercariae are scattered. The recruitment observed is illimited. This peculiarity is probably an adaptative factor permitting concentration of larvae in the second intermediate host.
