Abstract
The infectivity ofEchinoparyphium recurvatum cercariae to 8 species of gastropod snail was examined under laboratory conditions. Seven species were capable of acting as second intermediate hosts. Despite this broad specificity, onlyLymnaea peregra, Physa fontinalis andValvata piscinalis could be considered to show a high degree of compatibility with the parasite. In these 3 snail species more than 65% of the cercariae successfully penetrated and established metacercarial cyst infections.
In experimental infections of multi-species host communities the presence ofLymnaea stagnalis, a host of low suitability, reduced the infection rate in suitable snails (L. peregra). This ability to act as a “decoy” snail was not shared, however, by an alternative host of low suitability status, the planorbidGyraulus albus.
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Evans, N.A., Gordon, D.M. Experimental observations on the specificity ofEchinoparyphium recurvatum toward second intermediate hosts. Z. Parasitenkd. 69, 217–222 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00926956
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00926956