Kirill V. Galaktionov

Bio: Kirill V. Galaktionov is an academic researcher from Russian Academy of Sciences. The author has contributed to research in topics: Intermediate host & Population. The author has an hindex of 15, co-authored 55 publications receiving 918 citations. Previous affiliations of Kirill V. Galaktionov include Saint Petersburg State University.

The Biology and Evolution of Trematodes: An Essay on the Biology, Morphology, Life Cycles, Transmissions, and Evolution of Digenetic Trematodes

Abstract: Preface. Introduction. Acknowledgements. 1: Organization of parthenogenetic and hermaphroditic generations of trematodes. 1. Parthenogenetic generations and their larvae. 2. The hermaphroditic generation. 2: The trematode life cycle as a system of adaptations. 1. Adaptations of the first parthenogenetic generation. 2. Adaptations of daughter generations of parthenitae. 3. Hermaphroditic generation. 3: The main types of trematode life cycles. 1. Trixenous (three-host) life cycles. 2. Trixenous (three-host) life cycles with two endogenous ag-glomerations. 3. Dixenous (two-host) life cycles. 4. Homoxenous (one-host) life cycles. 5. Tetraxenous (four-host) life cycles. 4: Specific traits of populations formed by trematodes. 1. On the nature of trematode populations. 2. Host-parasite interactions and their manifestation on popula-tional level. 3. Phase analysis of trematode populations. 4. General notes. 5: The main trends in trematode evolution. 1. The main trends of morphological evolution of trematodes. 2. Ways of biological radiation of trematodes into different ecosystems. 6: Evolution of life cycles and phylogeny of trematodes. 1. Origin and evolution of trematode life cycles. 2. The main trends in evolution of trematode life cycles. 3. Possible approaches to establishing a natural classification of trematodes. References. Index.

Life cycles, molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of the 'pygmaeus' microphallids (Digenea: Microphallidae): widespread parasites of marine and coastal birds in the Holarctic.

Abstract: The ‘pygmaeus’ microphallids (MPG) are a closely related group of 6 digenean (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda) Microphallus species that share a derived 2-host life cycle in which metacercariae develop inside daughter sporocysts in the intermediate host (intertidal and subtidal gastropods, mostly of the genus Littorina) and are infective to marine birds (ducks, gulls and waders). Here we investigate MPG transmission patterns in coastal ecosystems and their diversification with respect to historical events, host switching and host-parasite co-evolution. Species phylogenies and phylogeographical reconstructions are estimated on the basis of 28S, ITS1 and ITS2 rDNA data and we use a combination of analyses to test the robustness and stability of the results, and the likelihood of alternative biogeographical scenarios. Results demonstrate that speciation within the MPG was not associated with co-speciation with either the first intermediate or final hosts, but rather by host-switching events coincident with glacial cycles in the Northern Hemisphere during the late Pliocene/Pleistocene. These resulted in the expansion of Pacific biota into the Arctic-North Atlantic and periodic isolation of Atlantic and Pacific populations. Thus we hypothesize that contemporary species of MPG and their host associations resulted from fragmentation of populations in regional refugia during stadials, and their subsequent range expansion from refugial centres during interstadials.

Anthropogenic influences on the infestation of intertidal gastropods by seabird trematode larvae on the southern Barents Sea coast

Abstract: In this study we examined how the variation in the distribution of six species of seabird trematodes was influenced by human activities along the subarctic Barents Sea coast of northern Norway. This was done by comparing the prevalence of the parasites in two species of intermediate host (Littorinasaxatilis and Littorina obtusata) on seashores near fishing industry complexes, fish farms and at control sites. In L. saxatilis there were higher prevalences at sites influenced by human activities for three out of five trematode species (Microphallus piriformes, M. similis, Cryptocotyle lingua) which have gulls (Larus spp.) as their predominant final hosts, while in L. obtusata, only M. similis was more common at sites with human activity. For M. pygmaeus, a trematode which has the common eider (Somateria mollissima) as its most predominant final host, the prevalence in L.␣saxatilis tended to be higher at sites with fishing industry, but differences were not significant. No such tendency was found in L. obtusata for this trematode. The overall prevalence in L. obtusata was lower than in L.␣saxatilis. This indicates that the vulnerability to trematode infection differs between the two snail species depending on the variation in the distribution patterns in the intertidal zone. Gulls tend to concentrate in areas near fishing industry and fish farms to feed on fish offal, which leads to an increase in the transmission between hosts, and to a higher level of parasite infection, locally.

Distribution patterns of marine bird digenean larvae in periwinkles along the southern coast of the Barents Sea

Abstract: An important component of the parasite fauna of seabirds in arctic regions are the flukes (Digena). Different species of digeneans have life cycles which may consist of 1 intermediate host and no free-living larval stages, 2 intermediate hosts and 1 free-living stage, or 2 intermediate hosts and 2 free-living larval stages. This study examined the distribution of such parasites in the intertidal zones of the southern coast of the Barents Sea (northwestern Russia and northern Norway) by investigating 2 species of periwinkles (Littorina saxatilis and L. obtusata) which are intermediate hosts of many species of digeneans. A total of 26,020 snails from 134 sampling stations were collected. The study area was divided into 5 regions, and the number of species, frequency of occurrence and prevalence of different digenean species and groups of species (depending on life cycle complexity) were compared among these regions, statistically controlling for environmental exposure. We found 14 species of digeneans, of which 13 have marine birds as final hosts. The number of species per sampling station increased westwards, and was higher on the Norwegian coast than on the Russian coast. The frequency of occurrence of digeneans with more than 1 intermediate host increased westwards, making up a larger proportion of the digeneans among infected snails. This was significant in L. saxatilis. The prevalence of different species showed the same pattern, and significantly more snails of both species were infected with digeneans with complicated life cycles in the western regions. In L. saxatilis, environmental exposure had a statistically significant effect on the distribution of the most common digenean species. This was less obvious in L. obtusata. The causes of changing species composition between regions are probably (1) the harsh climate in the eastern part of the study area reducing the probability of successful transmission of digeneans with complicated life cycles, and (2) the distribution of different final hosts.

Effect of Temperature

Abstract: A positive temperature coefficient is the term which has been used to indicate that an increase in solubility occurs as the temperature is raised, whereas a negative coefficient indicates a decrease in solubility with rise in temperature.

Global warming and temperature-mediated increases in cercarial emergence in trematode parasites.

Abstract: Global warming can affect the world's biota and the functioning of ecosystems in many indirect ways. Recent evidence indicates that climate change can alter the geographical distribution of parasitic diseases, with potentially drastic consequences for their hosts. It is also possible that warmer conditions could promote the transmission of parasites and raise their local abundance. Here I have compiled experimental data on the effect of temperature on the emergence of infective stages (cercariae) of trematode parasites from their snail intermediate hosts. Temperature-mediated changes in cercarial output varied widely among trematode species, from small reductions to 200-fold increases in response to a 10 degrees C rise in temperature, with a geometric mean suggesting an almost 8-fold increase. Overall, the observed temperature-mediated increases in cercarial output are much more substantial than those expected from basic physiological processes, for which 2- to 3-fold increases are normally seen. Some of the most extreme increases in cercarial output may be artefacts of the methods used in the original studies; however, exclusion of these extreme values has little impact on the preceding conclusion. Across both species values and phylogenetically independent contrasts, neither the magnitude of the initial cercarial output nor the shell size of the snail host correlated with the relative increase in cercarial production mediated by rising temperature. In contrast, the latitude from which the snail-trematode association originated correlated negatively with temperature-mediated increases in cercarial production: within the 20 degrees to 55 degrees latitude range, trematodes from lower latitudes showed more pronounced temperature-driven increases in cercarial output than those from higher latitudes. These results suggest that the small increases in air and water temperature forecast by many climate models will not only influence the geographical distribution of some diseases, but may also promote the proliferation of their infective stages in many ecosystems.

Host diversity begets parasite diversity: bird final hosts and trematodes in snail intermediate hosts

Abstract: An unappreciated facet of biodiversity is that rich communities and high abundance may foster parasitism. For parasites that sequentially use different host species throughout complex life cycles, parasite diversity and abundance in 'downstream' hosts should logically increase with the diversity and abundance of 'upstream' hosts (which carry the preceding stages of parasites). Surprisingly, this logical assumption has little empirical support, especially regarding metazoan parasites. Few studies have attempted direct tests of this idea and most have lacked the appropriate scale of investigation. In two different studies, we used time-lapse videography to quantify birds at fine spatial scales, and then related bird communities to larval trematode communities in snail populations sampled at the same small spatial scales. Species richness, species heterogeneity and abundance of final host birds were positively correlated with species richness, species heterogeneity and abundance of trematodes in host snails. Such community-level interactions have rarely been demonstrated and have implications for community theory, epidemiological theory and ecosystem management.

Are diseases increasing in the ocean

Abstract: ▪ Abstract Many factors (climate warming, pollution, harvesting, introduced species) can contribute to disease outbreaks in marine life Concomitant increases in each of these makes it difficult to attribute recent changes in disease occurrence or severity to any one factor For example, the increase in disease of Caribbean coral is postulated to be a result of climate change and introduction of terrestrial pathogens Indirect evidence exists that (a) warming increased disease in turtles; (b) protection, pollution, and terrestrial pathogens increased mammal disease; (c) aquaculture increased disease in mollusks; and (d) release from overfished predators increased sea urchin disease In contrast, fishing and pollution may have reduced disease in fishes In other taxa (eg, sea grasses, crustaceans, sharks), there is little evidence that disease has changed over time The diversity of patterns suggests there are many ways that environmental change can interact with disease in the ocean