Pavel N. Nikolov Darina D. GEorgieva Boyko B. Georgiev Gergana P. Vasileva Plamen Pankov Mariano Paracuellos Kevin D. Lafferty Andy J. Green Marta I. Sanchez 2013 Brine shrimp, <i>Artemia spp.</i>, act as intermediate hosts for a range of cestode species that use waterbirds as their final hosts. These parasites can have marked influences on shrimp behavior and fecundity, generating the potential for cascading effects in hypersaline food webs. We present the first comprehensive study of the temporal dynamics of cestode parasites in natural populations of brine shrimp throughout the annual cycle. Over a 12-month period, clonal <i>Artemia parthenogenetica</i> were sampled in the Odiel marshes in Huelva, and the sexual <i>Artemia salina</i> was sampled in the Salinas de Cerrillos in Almería. Throughout the year, 4–45 % of <i>A. parthenogenetica</i> were infected with cestodes (mean species richness = 0.26), compared to 27–72 % of <i>A. salina</i> (mean species richness = 0.64). Ten cestode species were recorded. Male and female <i>A. salina</i> showed similar levels of parasitism. The most prevalent and abundant cestodes were those infecting the most abundant final hosts, especially the Greater Flamingo <i>Phoenicopterus ruber</i>. In particular, the flamingo parasite <i>Flamingolepis liguloides</i> had a prevalence of up to 43 % in <i>A. parthenogenetica</i> and 63.5 % in <i>A. salina</i> in a given month. Although there was strong seasonal variation in prevalence, abundance, and intensity of cestode infections, seasonal changes in bird counts were weak predictors of the dynamics of cestode infections. However, infection levels of <i>Confluaria podicipina</i> in <i>A. parthenogenetica</i> were positively correlated with the number of their black-necked grebe <i>Podiceps nigricollis</i> hosts. Similarly, infection levels of <i>Anomotaenia tringae</i> and <i>Anomotaenia microphallos</i> in <i>A. salina</i> were correlated with the number of shorebird hosts present the month before. Correlated seasonal transmission structured the cestode community, leading to more multiple infections than expected by chance. application/pdf 10.1007/s00436-013-3347-x en Springer High prevalence of cestodes in <i>Artemia</i> spp. throughout the annual cycle: relationship with abundance of avian final hosts article