Anna Cichy

Anna Cichy
  • PhD
  • Researcher at Nicolaus Copernicus University

About

77
Publications
14,676
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480
Citations
Introduction
I am a parasitologist working at the Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland. My current research focuses on the parasitological consequences of biological invasions using molluscs and trematodes as a research model. I’m interested in ecological relationships between native and alien hosts, and their parasites in the context of climate change and biological invasions.
Current institution
Nicolaus Copernicus University
Current position
  • Researcher
Additional affiliations
February 2011 - present
Nicolaus Copernicus University
Position
  • Researcher
Education
October 2007 - September 2011
Nicolaus Copernicus University
Field of study
  • Parasitology and Malacology

Publications

Publications (77)
Article
The prosobranch gastropod Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray,1843) is poorly understood as a parasite host outside its native New Zealand, including in Europe. Our aim was to ascertain whether non-native P. antipodarum could acquire aspidogastrids or digeneans in habitats where these parasites are found in native hosts. We examined 2400 P. antipodarum...
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Full-text available
Research on the infection of snails by trematodes has been conducted in Europe for over a hundred years. The initial poor knowledge of the intra-molluscan stages of these parasites together with the difficulty of classifying them constituted a serious obstacle to the undertaking of integrated parasitological and malacological efforts to gain a bett...
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Mussels are intermediate hosts of digenean trematodes, but determinants of these infections remain unknown. To address this problem, we collected duck mussels Anodonta anatina in eighteen lakes from northeastern Poland and examined how mussel age, sex, and the encrustation with zebra mussels Dreissena polymorpha and environmental conditions in lake...
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This review presents the results of studies on the freshwater snail-trematode associations, carried out in Europe since the beginning of the 20th century. The great number of synonyms of snail and trematode specific names has made the cooperation between malacologists and parasitologists difficult. Here we provide a survey of larval trematodes (cer...
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Full-text available
The hyperparasitism of tetracotyle metacercariae (Cotylurus sp.; Strigeidae) in trematode asexually multiplicating larval stages (sporocysts and/or rediae) within snail intermediate hosts have been perceived for years as a highly evolved mode of life strategy within trematodes, enhancing their development and transmission success. Here, we verified...
Article
1. Predation is considered one of the key drivers shaping the relationships between animals. There is increasing evidence that non-host aquatic taxa use free-living parasite stages as prey, including motile cercariae of digenean trematodes. However, species-specific predator differences in cercarial consumption are poorly understood, especially whe...
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Full-text available
Abstract The change in the distribution of organisms in freshwater ecosystems due to natural or manmade processes raises the question of the impact of alien species on local communities. Although most studies indicate a negative effect, the positive one is more difficult to discern, especially in multispecies systems, including hosts and parasites...
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In several ecosystems, Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray, 1853) (Gastropoda, Tateidae) is considered among the worst invasive species. Its tolerance to a broad range of environmental conditions has favoured its success in colonising new environments worldwide. However, population crashes may occur, leading to significant fluctuations in snail densitie...
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There is a great need to understand the impact of complex communities on the free-living parasite stages that are part of them. This task becomes more complex as nonnative species emerge, changing existing relationships and shaping new interactions in the community. A relevant question would be: Can the coexistence of nontarget snails with the targ...
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Species of Cotylurus Szidat, 1928 (Diplostomoidea: Strigeidae) are highly specialized digeneans that parasitize the gastrointestinal tract and bursa of Fabricius of water and wading birds. They have a three-host life cycle; the role of first intermediate host is played by pulmonate snails, while a wide range of water snails (both pulmonate and pros...
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In the European Union, aquarium pets are organisms intended for closed places (e.g., pet shops, garden ponds, home aquariums). Until April 2021, regulations did not require veterinary inspection of these animals within the EU, although there is a potential risk of such organisms being released into the environment along with their symbiotes or para...
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Research on alien and invasive species focuses on the direct effects of invasion on native ecosystems, and the possible positive effects of their presence are most often overlooked. Our aim was to check the suitability of selected alien species (the snail Physa acuta, the bivalve Dreissena polymorpha, and the gammarid Dikerogammarus villosus) as di...
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The introduction of non-indigenous organisms in new areas in the context of host-parasite interactions is still poorly understood. This study aimed at a parasitological and histopathological comparison of two phylogenetically distinct forms of the freshwater snail Theodoxus fluviatilis in the River Rhine system: the native Northern-European form, w...
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Physa acuta Draparnaud, 1805 is one of the most common freshwater gastropod species, with worldwide distribution. It is an effective periphyton grazer and a potential keystone species in shallow-water systems, where it can boost macrophyte well-being and thus help maintain high water clarity even in nutrient-rich habitats. P. acuta also has been ex...
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Swimmer's itch is an emerging disease caused by bird schistosomes affecting people all over the world. Lymnaeidae − main host snails in Europe − are the source of harmful cercariae of these zoonotic parasites. The aim of this work was to determine whether Polish lakes, inhabited by Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray, 1843), result in a lower potential...
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Bird schistosomes are commonly established as the causative agent of swimmer's itch − a hyper-sensitive skin reaction to the penetration of their infective larvae. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of the genus Bilharziella in comparison to other bird schistosome species from Lake Drawsko − one of the largest recreation...
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The New Zealand mud snail ( Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray, 1843)) is on the list of one hundred worst invasive species. Researchers point out that genetic variation between populations of P. antipodarum manifested in differences in life-history traits. The main objective of our investigation was to gain pioneer knowledge about mitochondrial haplot...
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No effective method has yet been developed to prevent the threat posed by the emerging disease—cercarial dermatitis (swimmer’s itch), caused by infective cercariae of bird schistosomes (Digenea: Schistosomatidae). In our previous studies, the New Zealand mud snail— Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray, 1853; Gastropoda, Tateidae)—was used as a barrier be...
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Parasite diagnostics were carried out on 11 Polish populations of Cepaea spp. In three of them, coming from the roadside ditches of a village (Rytel, northern Poland), very high (up to 60%) prevalence of Brachylaima mesostoma was observed. This study provides the first molecular evidence of the presence of B. mesostoma inside Cepaea spp. in Europe....
Article
Abstract 1. Thermal disturbance of aquatic ecosystems directly and/or indirectly affects interspecific interactions, including parasitism. Both hosts and parasites respond differently to environmental changes, thus, predicting how host–parasite systems behave under the influence of disturbance remains a challenge. The aim of the study was to check...
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A countrywide data set of 1048 samples of the European land snail Cepaea nemoralis (L.) from Poland was assembled from both published and unpublished sources. Analyses of shell colour and banding polymorphism revealed distinctive patterns of variation. While the frequency of brown shells showed a clear geographical pattern related to climate, other...
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Unionid mussel species belong to one of the most threatened invertebrate groups on Earth. Biological invasions, especially those by filtering species, are parti cularly harmful to nati ve Unionidae species. In Poland, a significantly disturbing situati on of native Unionidae is observed in thermally polluted aquatic ecosystems. Such water bodies ha...
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Trichobilharzia spp. have been identified as a causative agent of swimmers’ itch, a skin disease provoked by contact with these digenean trematodes in water. These parasites have developed a number of strategies to invade vertebrates. Since we have little understanding of the behavior of these parasites inside the human body, the monitoring of thei...
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Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771) is an alien bivalve species that has successfully spread in lotic and lentic water habitats of Poland. The aim of the study was an assessment of differences in the level of colonisation of zebra mussel individuals residing on the shell surface of Unionidae gathered from the shore zone of water bodies both between...
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Full-text available
Swimmer’s itch is a re-emerging human disease caused by bird schistosome cercariae, which can infect bathing or working people in water bodies. Even if cercariae fail after penetrating the human skin, they can cause dangerous symptoms in atypical mammal hosts. One of the natural methods to reduce the presence of cercariae in the environment could l...
Data
Survival of Radix balthica infected with Trichobilharzia regenti miracidia in the presence of Potamopyrgus antipodarum
Data
Survival of infected and non–infected Radix balthica
Data
The database for effectiveness of parasite invasion to R. balthica at the presence of Potamopyrgus antipodarum (results of Fisher Exact Test)
Data
Effectiveness of parasite invasion to Radix balthica in the presence of Potamopyrgus antipodarum
Data
Supplementary Material 1 Anna Marszewska,Tomasz StrzałaAnna Cichy, Grażyna B. Dabrowska,Elzbieta Zbikowska
Article
Research on behavioural fever in Planorbarius corneus was undertaken using a longitudinal thermal gradient. Before the experiment, snails were acclimated at 19 °C. Following injections of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, a pyrogenic agent), ketoprofen (an antipyretic) or saline solution (control), thermal behaviour of the animals was automatically recorded...
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Full-text available
After numerous reports the local press about the "stinging water" in created on the Dzierżęcinka River-Water Valley reservoir and recognizing in bathers the symptoms of swimmers' itch, environmental study on the presence of bird schistosome larvae in snail hosts was conducted. Snails belonging to Lymnaeidae and Planorbidae were collected at two sit...
Article
A phenomenon of switching of the parasite in the food chain to an accidental host is commonly observed in nature. However, there is little available data concerning the morphological descriptions of parasites that passively get into the atypical hosts and are capable, at least to some degree, of somatic growth and development of reproductive struct...
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Full-text available
Biological invasions are commonly observed in both the natural habitats and those which are altered by human activities. An understanding of the mechanisms involved in the successful introduction, establishment and invasion of exotic taxa is essential in predicting of changes in biodiversity and community structure. Symbiont-mediated interactions b...
Article
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The aim of this work was to determine the diversity and the prevalence of trematodes from subclasses Digenea and Aspidogastrea in native unionid clams (Unionidae) and in dreissenid mussels (Dreissenidae) residing on the surface of their shells. 914 individuals of unionids and 4,029 individuals of Dreissena polymorpha were collected in 2014 from 11...
Chapter
Full-text available
Scientific literature provides many examples of parasite-induced changes in thermal preferences of animals. These alterations can be interpreted as a defense response of hosts, a by-product of parasitic invasion or host manipulation aimed at increasing chances of parasite transmission. In this chapter we present an overview of ectothermic host-para...
Article
Fever is regarded as a physiological response to infection both in endothermic and ectothermic animals. In ectotherms, fevers are achieved only behaviorally, and has been described in many vertebrates' and few invertebrates' groups. In snails only symptoms of reverse fever as a response to trematode invasion were found. Present work reports on the...
Article
The subject of the research was the thermal preferences of Planorbarius corneus individuals infected by larvae of digenetic trematodes. Snails were obtained over two consecutive years, 2009 and 2010, from 10 water bodies located in central Poland. The relationship between the seasons and the occurrence of patent invasions in hosts found in the shor...

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