Biocontrol of snail-borne parasites with the glossiphoniid leech, Helobdella austinensis

• Published in: Biology letters (2005) Vol. 19; no. 4; p. 20220484
• Main Authors: Saglam, Naim, Melissaratos, Diana S, Shain, Daniel H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 12-04-2023
• Subjects: Animals; Fresh Water; Humans; Leeches - parasitology; Parasites; Population Ecology; Predatory Behavior; parasitic disease; population dynamics; predator–prey; intermediate host
• ISSN: 1744-957X; 1744-9561; 1744-957X
• DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0484

Parasites in which freshwater snails are intermediate hosts pose a serious threat to human health worldwide. We show here that freshwater snails can potentially be controlled by leech predation; in principle, this approach could significantly reduce snail-borne parasitic diseases (SBPDs). Specifically, glossiphoniid leeches,
and congener species
consume freshwater snails indiscriminately, while other common leeches do not. A single adult
, for example, can consume up to its weight in snails, e.g.
per day. Our predator-prey models suggest that snail populations could be eliminated in relatively short time periods (approximately six months) using a leech biocontrol approach. This could have considerable impact on global SBPDs by breaking the intermediate host life cycle.