Impact of parasitic mite infection on a terrestrial snail

Summary

Although parasitic infections have been shown to be critical for growth, reproduction and survival of many vertebrates, little is known about the impact of parasites on invertebrate hosts and particular on molluscs. Therefore, it is of interest how parasites may affect their invertebrate hosts and how hosts can manage the detrimental effect of infections. In the present study, the naturally widespread parasitic mite Riccardoella limacum, which has been suggested to play an important role in the ecology of the land snail Arianta arbustorum, was artificially transferred to A. arbustorum. We experimentally examined the effect of the parasite on the food consumption, shell growth, and survival of its host. Surprisingly, we found minor impacts in some traits, i.e. we found that infected and uninfected snails similarly completed their shell growth, attained sexual maturity, and allocated equal energy into their albumen glands. However, infected snails consumed less and showed a significantly higher mortality after winter than uninfected snails.     

Isolation of five polymorphic microsatellite markers in Utetheisa ornatrix (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)

We isolated five polymorphic microsatellite markers for the arctiid moth Utetheisa ornatrix as part of an effort to investigate the role of inbreeding in the degree of polyandry seen in natural populations of the moth. We tested the primers on 105 individuals collected from scrub habitat in central Florida. These microsatellite loci provide a new research tool for understanding the population structure and reproductive behaviour of U. ornatrix.