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Aggregation of Argulus coregoni (Crustacea: Branchiura) on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): a consequence of host susceptibility or exposure?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 September 2004

M. BANDILLA
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, P.O. Box 35 (ya), FIN-40014, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
T. HAKALAHTI
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, P.O. Box 35 (ya), FIN-40014, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
P. J. HUDSON
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16902, USA
E. T. VALTONEN
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, P.O. Box 35 (ya), FIN-40014, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
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Abstract

By sampling individual rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, at a fish farm we showed that Argulus coregoni were aggregated within their host population. The relative significance of susceptibility and exposure generating the observed pattern was tested using experimental infections. We examined, whether rainbow trout developed protective resistance mechanisms against the louse following a challenge infection and if there was variation between individual trout in their susceptibility to A. coregoni metanauplii. Fish were exposed to 20 A. coregoni for 5, 25, 50, 85 or 120 min and the numbers attaching recorded. Three weeks later, developing argulids were removed and the experiment repeated with a standardized exposure of 20 metanauplii. Prior exposure of fish with A. coregoni did not reduce the total infection intensity compared to naïve fish, but fish gained infection more rapidly. We suggest that there is no protective acquired resistance of pre-exposed rainbow trout to subsequent Argulus exposure. The possibility that an immunosuppressive mechanism by argulids was acting enabling the higher attachment rate could be refuted since control individuals, not previously exposed to lice, gained the infection at a similar rate as the fish challenged twice. Our results do not indicate clear differences in susceptibility among individual fish but the transmission of metanauplii on fish seemed to be opportunistic and non-selective. Our results support the view that variation in exposure time, rather than differences in susceptibility of individual hosts, might be the key factor in generating the aggregated distribution of Argulus on their hosts.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Fig. 1. Frequency distribution of Argulus coregoni on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at a commercial fish farm. The line represents the fitted negative binomial distribution. Also indicated is the number of replicates and the estimate for k of the fitted negative binomial distribution.

Figure 1

Fig. 2. Comparison of Argulus coregoni metanauplii infection success during (A) the first and second exposure of challenged fish (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and (B) control and challenged fish in the second exposure. Fish that were challenged with argulids in the first exposure carried the parasite burden for 3 weeks after which they were re-exposed to metanauplii. Control fish had no contact with A. coregoni during the first exposure (sham infection) but were exposed to metanauplii during the second exposure. Bars represent standard error of the means. See Table 1 for asymptote and rate constant values for fitted curves.

Figure 2

Table 1. Estimates of asymptote (Φ1) values, half-lives (Φ2) expressed in form of its 2nd natural logarithm and their 95% confidence intervals for comparing curves of the 1st and 2nd Argulus coregoni exposure and control and 2nd A. coregoni exposure

Figure 3

Table 2. Mean attached Argulus coregoni metanauplii on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) during the first and second exposure in different infection levels

Figure 4

Fig. 3. The relationship between the variance to mean ratios of the number of attached Argulus coregoni metanauplii per host (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and duration of host exposure to infection. Also given is the variance[ratio ]mean ratio index of dispersion, ID=s2 (n−1)/x, above which the distribution is aggregated (see Elliot, 1977).