Parasitizing of trematodes provokes warts on the hinge plate of the bivalve mollusk Macoma balthica Linnaeus, 1758 (Veneroida, Tellinidae)

Abstract

The hypothesis on non-random correlation between abnormalities in the structure of hinge plate and infection of mollusks Macoma balthica with trematodes of the family Gymnophallidae has been tested on the basis of material from the Barents Sea. Significant correlation between the presence of warts and infection was established upon intraand interpopulation comparison. The hypothesis states that parasitizing of trematodes in the extrapallial cavity of mollusks influences the mantle functioning and provokes abnormalities in the hinge plate structure.