Data from Gopko et al.: Parasite transmission in aquatic ecosystems under temperature change: effects of host activity and elimination of parasite larvae by filter-feeders.

Three data files (csv) with full and abridged datasets, and one text file with the description of the variables.<br>Our research concerned the transmission of parasites in a freshwater ecosystem in relation to temperature, host behavior and the presence of predators feeding on free-living larvae of parasites in the environment. We used rainbow trout as a host, common trematode Diplostomum pseudospathaceum as a parasite and freshwater mussel Anodonta anatina as a predator eliminating cercariae (free-living stage of the trematode) from the environment. Temperatures of our study ranged from the mean summer temperature in the temperate lakes to those predicted by moderate scenarios of global warming. We found that both the presence of filter-feeders in the test tanks and temperature substantially influence the infection intensities in fish. Temperature increase led to higher infection intensities, while the presence of mussels strongly decreased parasitic loads. Importantly these two factors did not interact with each other implying that an increased filter activity of mussels is unlikely to compensate for the increased fish vulnerability to trematodes with temperature raise. Host activity before the exposure to parasites positively correlated with infection intensities, however, its correlation with temperature was rather weak.<br>After exposure to parasites, fish strongly decreased their activity. This decrease was temperature-dependent and more pronounced in bolder (more active) fish, which leads to lower variability in the activity of fish exposed to parasites compared with the safe environment. Post-exposure activity did not influence the infection intensity. In general, we showed that the elimination of trematode larvae by filter-feeders is unlikely to deter the potential effects of global warming on host-parasite interactions in temperate freshwater ecosystems.