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Parasitism and fitness of invaders: oligochaete Chaetogaster limnaei produces gill damage and increased respiration rates in freshwater Asian clams

  • INVASIVE SPECIES III
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Abstract

Biological interactions between invasive and resident species are perceived as a key factor mediating impacts in invaded ecosystems, although symbiotic interactions have received relatively little attention. To evaluate the association between the invasive clam Corbicula fluminea and its oligochaete symbiont Chaetogaster limnaei, we conducted laboratory assessments of prevalence and intensity of infection, external and internal macroscopic alterations, and histological analyses of the gills of uninfected and infected clams collected from the shores of the Río de la Plata estuary in Argentina. To evaluate potential ramifications of physical alterations on physiological traits and host fitness, we conducted respiration experiments on the same clams. Worm prevalence was higher in smaller than large clams. While no macroscopical alterations were detected, several histopathological changes were observed in the gills of infected clams. Infected clams had significantly higher metabolic rates than uninfected conspecifics and smaller clams had higher metabolic rates than larger conspecifics. Increased host metabolic rates, even at very low infections intensities, were likely a compensatory response to the stress caused by gill damaged inflicted by the oligochaetes. The relationship between C. limnaei and invasive C. fluminea in Río de la Plata best fits as parasitism.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Alejandro Pietrek, Nuria Vázquez, and Lilian Davies for providing statistical advice and help with data conversions. This research was funded by research grants from the Argentine Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, the University of Salta (PICT 2016-1127 and PIP 2015-0022 to F.A., CIUNSa 2481/0 to D.D., PICT 2015-3513 to E.M.P., PICT 2016-0631 and CIUNSa 2621/0 to F.S.), and PhD fellowships from CONICET to L.A.H. and F.F.L.

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  1. Leandro A. Hünicken

    Present address: Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Transferencia Tecnológica en Recursos Marinos “Almirante Storni”, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Güemes 1030, San Antonio Oeste, R8520CXV, Río Negro, Argentina

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta, Av. Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY, Salta, Argentina

    Florencia Liquin, Dora Davies & Francisco Sylvester

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Salta, Argentina

    Florencia Liquin & Francisco Sylvester

  3. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Leandro A. Hünicken, Florencia Arrighetti & Esteban M. Paolucci

  4. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Leandro A. Hünicken, Florencia Arrighetti & Esteban M. Paolucci

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  1. Florencia Liquin
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Liquin, F., Hünicken, L.A., Arrighetti, F. et al. Parasitism and fitness of invaders: oligochaete Chaetogaster limnaei produces gill damage and increased respiration rates in freshwater Asian clams. Hydrobiologia 848, 2213–2223 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04424-6

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