Selected Wildlife Trematodes

The trematodes are a species-rich group of parasites, with some estimates suggesting that there are more than 24,000 species. However, the complexities associated with their taxonomic status and nomenclature can hinder explorations of the biology of wildlife trematodes, including fundamental aspects such as host use, life cycle variation, pathology, and disease. In this chapter, we review work on selected trematodes of amphibians, birds, mammals, and their snail intermediate hosts, with the goal of providing a tool kit on how to study trematodes of wildlife. We provide a brief introduction to each group of wildlife trematodes, followed by some examples of the challenges each group of trematodes has relative to the goal of their identification and understanding of the biology and interactions these organisms have with their wildlife hosts.

A new population and habitat for Neotricula aperta in the Mekong river of northeastern Thailand: a DNA sequence-based phylogenetic assessment confirms identifications and interpopulation relationships

Neotricula aperta (Gastropoda: Pomatiopsidae), the snail intermediate host of Schistosoma mekongi, is found in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. We update information on the distribution of this species in the Mekong River and its tributary, the Mun River, in Thailand. DNA sequences of a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 were obtained from N. aperta collected from different locations and used to confirm species and strain identities. Specimens of the β-strain were found in the Mun River, whereas specimens of the γ-strain were found in the Mekong River. The γ-strain (with molecular confirmation of identity) is newly reported from Nong Khai Province, where it occurred in a habitat novel for this species: under paving slabs instead of under natural bed rocks, where agal aufwuchs is extensively located on the islet in the middle of the Mekong River. The new location is approximate 400 km upstream from the nearest previously known site for this species.