Each coin has 2 sides: a positive role of alien (Grey, 1843) snails in reducing the infection of native lymnaeids with trematodes.

The change in the distribution of organisms in freshwater ecosystems due to natural or manmade processes raises the question of the impact of alien species on local communities. Although most studies indicate a negative effect, the positive one is more difficult to discern, especially in multispecies systems, including hosts and parasites. The purpose of the study was to check whether the presence of an alien host, , reduces the intensity of metacercariae in a native host, spp.

Friends or enemies: Multi-species interactions among biofoulers, endoparasites and their gastropod hosts.

Parasites are a crucial factor that shapes the functioning of communities throughout the world, as are gregarious macrofoulers in aquatic ecosystems. However, little is known about the effects of three-way interactions between macrofoulers, endoparasites and their hosts. We predict that macrofouling and parasite infection may act (i) independently of each other, (ii) synergistically, increasing their final negative impact on the host or (iii) antagonistically, the former weakening the negative impact of the latter.

Thinking "outside the box": The effect of nontarget snails in the aquatic community on mollusc-borne diseases.

There is a great need to understand the impact of complex communities on the free-living parasite stages that are part of them. This task becomes more complex as nonnative species emerge, changing existing relationships and shaping new interactions in the community. A relevant question would be: Can the coexistence of nontarget snails with the target hosts contribute to trematodasis control? We used field and experimental approaches to investigate nonnative competitor-induced parasite dilution.

Life history strategies of spp. Szidat, 1928 (Trematoda, Strigeidae) in the molecular era - Evolutionary consequences and implications for taxonomy.

Species of Szidat, 1928 (Diplostomoidea: Strigeidae) are highly specialized digeneans that parasitize the gastrointestinal tract and bursa of Fabricius of water and wading birds. They have a three-host life cycle; the role of first intermediate host is played by pulmonate snails, while a wide range of water snails (both pulmonate and prosobranch) and leeches are reported as second intermediate hosts. Unfortunately, species richness, molecular diversity and phylogeny of metacercariae of spp.

Invaders as Diluents of the Cercarial Dermatitis Etiological Agent.

Research on alien and invasive species focuses on the direct effects of invasion on native ecosystems, and the possible positive effects of their presence are most often overlooked. Our aim was to check the suitability of selected alien species (the snail , the bivalve , and the gammarid ) as diluents for infectious bird schistosome cercariae-the etiological factor of swimmer's itch. It has been hypothesized that alien species with different feeding habits (scrapers, filterers and predators) that cohabit the aquatic environment with intermediate hosts of the schistosomatid trematodes are capable of feeding on their free-swimming stages-cercariae.