Invasive Ponto-Caspian Amphipods and Fish Increase the Distribution Range of the Acanthocephalan Pomphorhynchus tereticollis in the River Rhine

Autor: Emde, S., Rückert, S., Palm, H.W., Klimpel, S.
In:

PLOS ONE

Autor: Emde, S. et al. Emde, S.; Rückert, S.; Palm, H.W.; Klimpel, S.
Herausgeber: Martin Krkosek, University of Otago, New Zealand
Bandangabe: Volume 7
Auflage: 12
Ort: http://www.plosone.org
Verlag: PLOS ONE
Ergaenzung: e53218./journal.pone.0053218
ISBN: doi:10.1371
Jahr: 2012

Einordung:
Institut: Professur Aquakultur und Sea-Ranching

Abstract:
Non-indigenous species that become invasive are one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide. In various
freshwater systems in Europe, populations of native amphipods and fish are progressively displaced by highly adaptive nonindigenous
species that can perform explosive range extensions. A total of 40 Ponto-Caspian round gobies Neogobius
melanostomus from the Rhine River near Du¨ sseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, were examined for metazoan
parasites and feeding ecology. Three metazoan parasite species were found: two Nematoda and one Acanthocephala. The
two Nematoda, Raphidascaris acus and Paracuaria adunca, had a low prevalence of 2.5%. The Acanthocephala,
Pomphorhynchus tereticollis, was the predominant parasite species, reaching a level of 90.0% prevalence in the larval stage,
correlated with fish size. In addition, four invasive amphipod species, Corophium curvispinum (435 specimens),
Dikerogammarus villosus (5,454), Echinogammarus trichiatus (2,695) and Orchestia cavimana (1,448) were trapped at the
sampling site. Only D. villosus was infected with P. tereticollis at a prevalence of 0.04%. The invasive goby N. melanostomus
mainly preys on these non-indigenous amphipods, and may have replaced native amphipods in the transmission of P.
tereticollis into the vertebrate paratenic host. This study gives insight into a potential parasite-host system that consists
mainly of invasive species, such as the Ponto-Caspian fish and amphipods in the Rhine. We discuss prospective distribution
and migration pathways of non-indigenous vertebrate (round goby) and invertebrates (amphipods) under special
consideration of parasite dispersal.

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