![]() ![]() It's interesting that if only one larva penetrates a snail, it can multiply into tens of thousands of larvae through asexual reproduction. "The flatworm must have all three hosts to continue. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center in Stuttgart, Arkansas. Mitchell, a fishery biologist at the Harry K. "It's called a complex life cycle," says Andrew J. The cycle begins again when a pelican eats an infected fish and the flatworm reaches maturity inside the bird. ![]() Once the larvae multiply and mature inside the snail, they exit and find fish to infect. Eggs from the flatworm are shed into channel catfish ponds, where they hatch and form larvae that infect an intermediate host, the ram's-horn snail, Planorbella trivolvis. The flatworm, Bolbophorus confusus, lives in the bird's intestinal tract. The pelican also unwittingly harbors a small parasitic flatworm that-once it makes its way into channel catfish-can have a big financial impact on the Delta catfish industry. Its bright orange bill and a pouch that swells when it eats, combined with its short legs and typical wingspan of more than 9 feet, make it quite a spectacle.īut its appearance isn't what makes an impression on catfish farmers. The American white pelican will fly into the lower Mississippi River Delta again this winter to feed on fish. Nailing the Snail That Harbors a Fish Parasite
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