Parasites and Pollutants: Effects of Multiple Stressors on Aquatic Organisms.
Environ Toxicol Chem
; 42(9): 1946-1959, 2023 09.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37283208
ABSTRACT
Parasites can affect their hosts in various ways, and this implies that parasites may act as additional biotic stressors in a multiple-stressor scenario, resembling conditions often found in the field if, for example, pollutants and parasites occur simultaneously. Therefore, parasites represent important modulators of host reactions in ecotoxicological studies when measuring the response of organisms to stressors such as pollutants. In the present study, we introduce the most important groups of parasites occurring in organisms commonly used in ecotoxicological studies ranging from laboratory to field investigations. After briefly explaining their life cycles, we focus on parasite stages affecting selected ecotoxicologically relevant target species belonging to crustaceans, molluscs, and fish. We included ecotoxicological studies that consider the combination of effects of parasites and pollutants on the respective model organism with respect to aquatic host-parasite systems. We show that parasites from different taxonomic groups (e.g., Microsporidia, Monogenea, Trematoda, Cestoda, Acanthocephala, and Nematoda) clearly modulate the response to stressors in their hosts. The combined effects of environmental stressors and parasites can range from additive, antagonistic to synergistic. Our study points to potential drawbacks of ecotoxicological tests if parasite infections of test organisms, especially from the field, remain undetected and unaddressed. If these parasites are not detected and quantified, their physiological effects on the host cannot be separated from the ecotoxicological effects. This may render this type of ecotoxicological test erroneous. In laboratory tests, for example to determine effect or lethal concentrations, the presence of a parasite can also have a direct effect on the concentrations to be determined and thus on the subsequently determined security levels, such as predicted no-effect concentrations. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;421946-1959. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Parásitos
/
Contaminantes Químicos del Agua
/
Contaminantes Ambientales
/
Nematodos
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Toxicol Chem
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Alemania