How to translate text using browser tools
15 December 2021 Distribution and Diversity of Diplostomids in New Zealand
Brandon P. Ruehle, Bronwen Presswell, Jerusha Bennett
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Parasitism is one of the most common consumer strategies and contributes a large portion to biological diversity. Trematodes in the family Diplostomidae are common in freshwater ecosystems worldwide, often residing in the eyes or brain of fish and then infecting fish-eating birds as adults. As a result, some species have broad geographic distributions due to the bird host's motility. In contrast to the cosmopolitan nature of diplostomids, only a single species, Tylodelphys darbyi, has been identified in New Zealand to date, and only from the South Island. Tylodelphys darbyi has a 3-host life cycle consisting of an unidentified snail, a freshwater fish (Gobiomorphus cotidianus), and the Australasian crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus australis). To date, T. darbyi has been found in 2 locations, Lake Hayes, in the eyes of G. cotidianus, and Lake Wanaka, adults recovered from grebes. Considering the near ubiquity of the fish host in New Zealand, it is likely the bird, listed as nationally vulnerable, is the limiting factor in the range of T. darbyi. Up to 10 G. cotidianus were sampled from 10 mountain lakes known to have populations of grebe in the Otago and Canterbury regions of New Zealand's South Island. The eyes of all fish were examined and any metacercariae present were set aside for genetic analysis. In addition to expanding the known range of T. darbyi to at least 4 water bodies across the South Island, 2 new taxa of diplostomid were identified. A lens-infecting metacercariae clustered with Diplostomum spathaceum, while the metacercariae from the humor clustered with Diplostomum baeri.

© American Society of Parasitologists 2021
Brandon P. Ruehle, Bronwen Presswell, and Jerusha Bennett "Distribution and Diversity of Diplostomids in New Zealand," Journal of Parasitology 107(6), 933-942, (15 December 2021). https://doi.org/10.1645/21-75
Published: 15 December 2021
KEYWORDS
Common bully
diplostomid
Eye-fluke
Gobiomorphus cotidianus
New Zealand
Tylodelphys darbyi
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top