Life cycle and biology of Tristriata anatis (Digenea: Notocotylidae): morphological and molecular approaches

Notocotylids are common digeneans parasitising birds and mammals. They have a two-host life cycle with cercariae encysting in the open. Particular life cycles remain unknown for majority of notocotylid species, including a common parasite of sea ducks Tristriata anatis . Here we resolve the life cycle of T. anatis by means of D2 LSU, ITS1 and CO1 DNA sequence analysis, showing that the first intermediate hosts for this species are periwinkles Littorina spp. Morphological descriptions of rediae and cercariae are provided for the first time, and we also supplement the existing morphological data on adults. Apart from differential diagnosis, we discuss some features of cercariae and rediae biology, geographical distribution and host range. Our molecular data confirm that genus Tristriata is monotypic and that T. anatis has circumpolar distribution. CO1 sequence analysis has shown that isolation exists between the Atlantic and Pacific populations of T. anatis , suggesting that there are geographical races. We suppose that their formation may be linked to the Last Ice Age events, when trans-Arctic bird migrations ceased and periwinkle ranges shrunk. These made transfer of parasites across the Arctic impossible, and it still has not resumed. We discuss the possible influence of host vagility and adults’ lifespan on digeneans’ potential for geographical colonisation.