The lined sea anemone, Edwardsiella lineata, parasitizes the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, which is one of the most destructive marine invasive species in the world. Mnemiopsis leidyi is known to tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. However, the environmental tolerances of its most prominent parasite have never been characterized. Here we determined the effects of temperature (18, 22, 26, and 30 C) and salinity (6, 15, 24, and 33 ppt) on the survival and development of E. lineata from a vermiform parasite to a free-living polyp. At higher temperatures and lower salinities, E. lineata experienced significantly higher mortality, and it failed to develop into an adult polyp at the highest temperature (30 C) and lowest salinities we tested (6 ppt or 15 ppt). While such temperature and salinity restrictions would not currently prevent E. lineata from infecting M. leidyi in many of the European waters where it has become a destructive invasive species, these environmental limitations may be reducing overlap between host and parasite within the host’s native range, a situation that could be exacerbated by climate change.

条纹海葵 ( Edwardsiella lineata)寄生于栉水母Mnemiopsis leidyi，后者是世界上最具破坏性的海洋入侵物种之一。已知Mnemiopsis leidyi能够耐受多种环境条件。然而，其最重要的寄生虫的环境耐受性从未得到表征。在这里，我们确定了温度（18、22、26 和 30 C）和盐度（6、15、24 和 33 ppt）对E. lineata从蠕虫状寄生虫到自由生活息肉的生存和发育的影响。在较高的温度和较低的盐度下，E. lineata 的死亡率显着较高，并且在我们测试的最高温度（30°C）和最低盐度（6 ppt 或 15 ppt）下未能发育成成虫息肉。虽然这种温度和盐度限制目前并不能阻止E. lineata在许多欧洲水域感染M. leidyi，在这些水域中它已成为一种破坏性的入侵物种，但这些环境限制可能会减少宿主原生范围内宿主和寄生虫之间的重叠，气候变化可能会加剧这种情况。