SEASONAL OCCURRENCE OF NEOECHINORHYNCHUS EMYDIS (PHYLUM: ACANTHOCEPHALA) IN THE FRESHWATER SNAIL, PLANORBELLA CF. P. TRIVOLVIS, FROM OKLAHOMA.

The acanthocephalan Neoechinorhynchus emydis has a complex life cycle and infects turtle, ostracod, and snail hosts. However, little information is available on the seasonal distribution or the effects of N. emydis on freshwater snail hosts. To address this, we examined the seasonal distribution and melanization of acanthocephalans in Planorbella cf. Planorbella trivolvis snails from a single location in north-central Oklahoma. Seasonally, prevalence of N. emydis was 0% during the winter, increased to 50% during the summer, and declined to 17% in the fall. Mean abundance exhibited more variation but generally followed a similar pattern as prevalence. More important, all acanthocephalans located within the head/foot region of snail hosts contained melaninlike pigment surrounding each worm, suggesting that snails were mounting an immunological reaction to infections with N. emydis. Snail shell diameter was greatest during the fall and decreased during the winter, indicating that larger or older snails were dying during the winter. However, because field-collected snails were commonly infected with trematodes, and snail size varied significantly with season, it was unclear whether the observed seasonal dynamics of acanthocephalan infections were a result of snail mortality resulting from snail age, parasitic infections, or a combination of factors. To control for these factors, we exposed laboratory-reared Planorbella cf. P. trivolvis snails to naturally infected ostracods in field cages for 5-wk intervals during the winter, spring, and summer. Data from snail-cage infections were consistent with the seasonal field survey such that N. emydis infections were highest in the summer (20%) and lowest (0%) in the winter, suggesting that snails were not ingesting infected ostracods during the winter. However, fewer of our laboratory-reared snails survived in field cages during winter than during spring and summer, suggesting that snails may die more often during harsh winter conditions. Finally, we conducted a laboratory survival experiment by testing the life span and egg production of field-collected snails of various sizes that were naturally infected with acanthocephalans or trematodes or both. Our snail-survival experiment indicated that snail size but not infection status with acanthocephalans or trematodes affected snail survival, with larger snails surviving a shorter amount of time than smaller snails. In addition, snails infected with trematodes laid significantly fewer eggs compared with uninfected snails or snails infected with acanthocephalans. However, we found no significant difference in the number of eggs laid by acanthocephalan-infected and uninfected snails. Although other abiotic factors still need evaluation, we suggest that the occurrence of acanthocephalans in snails throughout the year may be partially influenced by the abundance of infected ostracods that snails may be ingesting and snail population fluctuations during the year.