– a parasite introduced from
the tropics and found in
the salt marshes of sou
thern California.
The parasite
's eggs enter
the water with
the waders
'droppings, where
they are eaten by Cerithideopsis californica snails.
The snails become sterile. Several generations develop inside
the snail, and
then
the cercariae larvae emerge into
the water.
The larvae attach to
the gills of
the Killifish (order Carpozoa) and work
their way along
the nerves into
the cranial cavity where
they build up a carpet around
the brain. Infested fish are four times more likely to“wiggle, twitch, shimmy and show
themselves”(Lafferty, K. D. (1999).“
The evolution of trophic transmission.”) than uninfected ones. This behaviour increases
their likelihood of being caught and eaten by birds by more than 30 times.
The parasite
then lives in
the intestines of
the birds and produces eggs, which are released with
the droppings and enter
the water body. (translation from
English Wikipedia article) (
KALDYH)
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