Trematode infection was studied in sympatric populations of the periwinkles Littorina saxatilis and L. obtusata in 2 regions of Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea to assess host-parasite interactions at the population level. Twenty-seven spatially separated populations were each surveyed in 1984-1994; 2 heavily infected populations were investigated annually over a 16 yr period. Ten trematode species were found in the periwinkle populations. The closest association in spatial distribution and temporal dynamics was observed between 3 ecologically and morphologically similar trematodes of the 'pygmaeus' group: Microphallus piriformes, M. pygmaeus and M. pseudopygmaeus. For these 3 species, the prevalences were closely associated in the 2 host species when spatially separated sites from the 2 studied regions were considered, while in the 2 populations studied over the 16 yr period, a correlation was only observed between the infection levels of L. saxatilis and L. obtusata by either M. piriformes and immature microphallids. Likewise, within each host species, significant correlations were revealed between the prevalence of the different microphallids of the 'pygmaeus' groups. However, they were fewer and weaker when the long-term dynamics of infection in the 2 heavily infected populations were considered. Most other trematodes did not show significant association in prevalence either within or between the 2 host species on spatial and temporal scales.

Four species of Littorina (L. littorea, L. obtusata, L. fabalis and L. saxatilis) from the Swedish west coast were examined for infections with digenetic trematodes. Four species of the genus Microphallus, Podocotyle alomon, Renicola roscovita, Himasthla elongata, Cryptocotyle lingua, and Paramonostomum chabaudi were found, in addition to encysted metacercariae of the two genera Himasthla and Renicola. The prevalence of sporocysts and rediae varied substantially among sampled populations (0-44%), as did the prevalence of metacercarial infections (3-100%), and this variation was due both to different microhabitats and to different host species. In L. saxatilis exposed rocky shore populations had lower prevalence than sheltered boulder shore populations. Within the same shores, L. littorea was the host species with highest prevalence of digeneans. The general pattern of distribution of the nine trematode species over host species was similar to what have been reported from other North Atlantic areas. However, prevalence and intensity differed both at a geographic scale (in comparison with other studies) and at a local scale. The temporal variation over years was less significant.