Infection of Mermithid Nematodes in a Natural Population of Armadillidium vulgare in Japan

IF 1.5 3区农林科学 Q4 PARASITOLOGY

Acta Parasitologica Pub Date : 2026-06-15 DOI:10.1007/s11686-026-01323-z

Anzai Naoya, Tsukasa Waki

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Abstract

Purpose

Parasites are generally thought to regulate host population density by reducing reproductive activity and/or increasing host mortality. This study examined the infection of nematodes of the family Mermithidae, which may have lethal and castrating effects on their hosts, in a natural population of the host isopod Armadillidium vulgare in Japan.

Methods

Isopods were collected almost monthly (2021–2023) using quadrat sampling (N = 3, 50 cm × 50 cm) at a station in Japan. We recorded prevalence of hosts, numbers of sampled hosts and body length frequency distributions of infected and uninfected hosts.

Results

Among 1553 hosts sampled, the overall infection prevalence was 4.2%. Particularly high values between 10% and 28% were observed from June to July, which is the period of the hosts’ reproduction and subsequent natural death.

Conclusion

While the lethal effects of infection may have a limited impact on host density, infection during the reproductive season suggests decrease in reproductive activity, potentially reducing the population size of the next host generation.

Abstract Image

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日本普通犰狳自然种群中介壳线虫的感染。

目的：寄生虫通常被认为通过降低繁殖活动和/或增加宿主死亡率来调节宿主种群密度。本研究在日本等足类普通犰狳自然种群中检测了对其寄主具有致死和去势作用的湿足科线虫的感染情况。方法：采用样方抽样（N = 3, 50 cm × 50 cm），在日本某监测站几乎每月（2021-2023年）采集等足类。我们记录了宿主的患病率、采样宿主的数量以及感染和未感染宿主的体长频率分布。结果：1553名宿主中，总感染率为4.2%。在6月至7月，即宿主繁殖和随后自然死亡的时期，观察到的数值特别高，达到10%至28%。结论：虽然感染的致死效应可能对宿主密度的影响有限，但在繁殖季节感染表明生殖活动减少，可能会减少下一代宿主的种群规模。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Acta Parasitologica 医学-寄生虫学

CiteScore

3.10

自引率

6.70%

发文量

149

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： Acta Parasitologica is an international journal covering the latest advances in the subject. Acta Parasitologica publishes original papers on all aspects of parasitology and host-parasite relationships, including the latest discoveries in biochemical and molecular biology of parasites, their physiology, morphology, taxonomy and ecology, as well as original research papers on immunology, pathology, and epidemiology of parasitic diseases in the context of medical, veterinary and biological sciences. The journal also publishes short research notes, invited review articles, book reviews. The journal was founded in 1953 as "Acta Parasitologica Polonica" by the Polish Parasitological Society and since 1954 has been published by W. Stefanski Institute of Parasitology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Since 1992 in has appeared as Acta Parasitologica in four issues per year.