Does the presence of other aquatic animal in wetland ecosystem affect the spread of parasite in the freshwater shrimp? Is it possible that the parasite of freshwater shrimp can be ingested by fish? Hoping for positive feedback. Many thanks.
The presence of other aquatic animals in a wetland ecosystem can potentially affect the spread of parasites in freshwater shrimp. For example, if a predator fish ingests infected shrimp, it may become a host for the parasite, which can then be passed on to other organisms. Additionally, the competition for resources between different species may also affect the transmission of parasites. However, more research is needed to fully understand the complex interactions between different aquatic organisms and the parasites that infect them.
Some parasites are host specific so, for the parasite to spread it will depend on the species of the aquatic animal.
There can also be other types of interaction than previously mentioned. For example, a predator that induces a change in the behaviour of the shrimp (for example, causing shrimps to aggregate and have more interactions between each other) can help spread the parasite.
Grass shrimps are a food source for many fish, other invertebrates, and birds and parasites can be passed on to top consumers (dolphins, larger fish, humans, etc). Some literature leans towards seasonal/temperature-dependence parasitism. I can anecdotally say that I found that grass shrimps were more likely to host trematodes ( prevalence and total parasites per individual) near boat docks/marinas. There is a high likelihood that more species across all trophic levels are present in these marinas due to dumping of fish parts, bycatch, as well as, pollutants. I don’t have access to this data anymore, but hope this helps.
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