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Land use drives trematode dynamics in a restored stream system
Annabell Hüsken1,2, Jessica Schwelm1,2, Bernd Sures1,2
1Aquatic Ecology and Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstraße 5, Essen, 45141, Germany.
Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-Borne Diseases
|March 5, 2026
Summary
Land use, not restoration history, significantly impacts parasite dynamics in urban streams. Agricultural areas show higher trematode richness and prevalence, suggesting parasites can be useful bioindicators.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Parasitology
- Conservation Biology
- Freshwater Ecosystems
Background:
- Urban freshwater ecosystems face numerous stressors, necessitating ecological status evaluation and restoration efforts.
- Understanding parasite-host interactions is crucial for assessing ecosystem health, yet remains poorly understood in degraded and restored urban systems.
- Biodiversity loss highlights the need for comprehensive ecological assessments, including less-studied components like parasite communities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate trematode species richness, prevalence, and community composition in snail hosts across a restored urban stream system.
- To determine the influence of land-use types and restoration history on trematode dynamics within freshwater ecosystems.
- To evaluate the potential of trematodes as bioindicators for ecological assessment in restored urban habitats.
Main Methods:
- Conducted monthly sampling of first intermediate snail hosts over two years in an urban stream system.
- Assessed trematode species richness, overall prevalence, and community composition across different restoration stages and adjacent land-use types.
- Examined 6300 snails from 13 species, identifying 25 trematode species.
Main Results:
- Adjacent land use was a significant predictor of trematode dynamics; agricultural sites exhibited higher species richness and prevalence compared to forested or urban sites.
- Trematode community composition showed minimal spatial turnover and was not substantially affected by restoration history or land use.
- Restoration history did not influence trematode richness, prevalence, or community composition, indicating rapid recovery of parasite-host assemblages.
Conclusions:
- Land use is a dominant landscape-level driver of trematode dynamics in urban freshwater ecosystems.
- Restored habitats may quickly re-establish trematode-host assemblages, irrespective of the restoration timeline.
- Trematodes show potential as complementary bioindicators for assessing ecological conditions in restored urban freshwater habitats.
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