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Université de Fribourg

Morphology, molecular phylogeny, and ecology of Binucleata daphniae n. g., n. sp. (Fungi: Microsporidia), a parasite of Daphnia magna Straus, 1820 (Crustacea: Branchiopoda)

Refardt, Dominik ; Decaestecker, Ellen ; Johnson, Pieter T. J. ; Vávra, Jirí

In: Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 2008, vol. 55, no. 5, p. 393 - 408

We describe a new microsporidian species Binucleata daphniae, n. g., n. sp., that infects the integument cells lining the hemocoele cavity of the carapace and the postabdomen of the cladoceran Daphnia magna Straus. Infected cells filled with spores accumulate as large clusters in the carapace cavity and heavily infected hosts are detected by their opaque appearance. Despite the parasite's...

Université de Fribourg

Ecological implications of parasites in natural Daphnia populations

Decaestecker, Ellen ; Declerck, Steven ; De Meester, Luc ; Ebert, Dieter

In: Oecologia, 2005, vol. 144(3), p. 382

In natural host populations, parasitism is considered to be omnipresent and to play an important role in shaping host life history and population dynamics. Here, we study parasitism in natural populations of the zooplankton host Daphnia magna investigating their individual and population level effects during a 2-year field study. Our results revealed a rich and highly prevalent community of...

Université de Fribourg

Haunted by the past: evidence for dormant stage banks of microparasites and epibionts of Daphnia

Decaestecker, Ellen ; Lefever, Christophe ; De Meester, Luc ; Ebert, Dieter

In: Limnology and Oceanography, 2004, vol. 49, no. 4, p. 1355-1364

Microparasites and epibionts have important implications for the ecology and evolution of their zooplankton host populations. Many parasites and epibionts produce resistant spores that infect new hosts upon intake. We explored the hypothesis that these spores build up dormant stage banks that remain infective for several years (decades). In laboratory experiments, we exposed Daphnia magna to...