Abstract
Free-ranging populations of turtles, Chelydra serpentina serpentina, Chrysemys picta marginata, and Clemmys insculpta, were examined for prevalence and intensity of Haemogregarina balli during the summers of 1989 and 1990 in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Prevalence data indicated that C. s. serpentina was the primary intermediate host. The lower prevalence in C. p. marginata and C. insculpta is attributed in part to the relatively smaller surface area available for the attachment and bite of the definitive host, Placobdella ornata. Intensities of bloodstream stages in C. p. marginata and C. insculpta were rarely greater than 1 in 104 erythrocytes. The intensity in C. s. serpentina ranged from 0.5 to 30.0 in 103 erythrocytes. Intensity data for C. s. serpentina demonstrated quantitative and qualitative changes in parasitaemia in 2-week intervals in 1990. It is suggested that the biology of P. ornata is an important influence in these changes. Microscopic and statistical analysis provided independent evidence for binary fission of merozoites in the life history of H. balli.
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