Infections of the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., with the plerocercoid larvae of Schistocephalus solidus (Müller, 1776), with special reference to pathological effects

Parasitology ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Arme ◽  
R. Wynne Owen
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Liver Weight ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
The Body ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Maximum Value ◽  
Individual Host ◽  
Concurrent Infections ◽  
The Relationship

Infections are described of Gasterosteus aculeatus in a pond at Leeds with the plerocercoid larvae of Schistocephalus solidus.Very heavy infections were found in the summer of 1962 and early 1963; many fish harboured over 50 worms and the maximum was 130.For each individual host the relative percentage parasite-weight to host-weight has been determined (parasitization index). In more than 50% of the fish the P.I. exceeded 25; the maximum value was 68·5. The relationship between P.I., numbers of worms and weight of worms is described.Some effects of parasitization on the host are described; they include gross distension of the body, reduction of liver weight, reduction of packed cell volume of erythrocytes and delay in oocyte maturation. In some heavily parasitized individuals spawning is apparently inhibited.Concurrent infections with the microsporidian Glugea anomala are described.Our thanks are due to Mr A. Rennie, B.Sc., of the Yorkshire Ouse and Hull River Authority for drawing our attention to the source of infected sticklebacks, to Mr A. O. Holliday for the preparation of photographs and to Mr G. R. Standley for assistance in the preparation of the slide shown in PI. 1, fig. 3. We also wish to thank Dr J. N. Ball, Department of Zoology, University of Sheffield, for his helpful comments on the gonads of infected fish, and Professor J. M. Dodd, Department of Zoology, University of Leeds, for providing facilities and much helpful discussion. One of us (C. A.) gratefully acknowledges the receipt of a Science Research Council Research Studentship and Fellowship.

The Effect of Schistocephalus Solidus (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) On the Foraging and Shoaling Behaviour of Three-Spined Sticklebacks, Gasterosteus Aculeatus

Behaviour ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 132 (15-16) ◽  
pp. 1223-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain Barber ◽  
Felicity A. Huntingford
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Work ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Handling Time ◽  
Body Cavity ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
The Body ◽  
Large Prey ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Shoaling Behaviour

AbstractIn this paper we review recent experimental work on the effects of the parasite Schistocephalus solidus (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) on the feeding behaviour of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.). We also discuss how increased feeding motivation and subsequent altered foraging behaviour may be a mechanism for parasite-associated changes in the shoaling behaviour of infected sticklebacks. The presence of S. solidus plerocercoids in the body cavity constricts the stomach, increases the handling time for large prey and consequently reduces the profitability of such prey for infected fish. This is reflected in a switch in dietary preference from large to small prey in the laboratory and in altered stomach contents and impaired nutrient reserves in the wild. By altering their hosts' nutritional state by direct competition for nutrients from digested food (and possibly indirectly by altering diet and reducing competitive ability) and also by altering the fishes' appearance, such parasites have the potential to alter the costs and benefits involved in joining a shoal of conspecifics. Experimental work on the shoaling decisions of S. solidus-infected sticklebacks supports this hypothesis, and such behavioural modification is discussed in the context of the manipulation hypothesis of parasite transmission.

Seasonal variations in the parasite infections in a population of three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus L.

Parasitology ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Pennycuick
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Research Council ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Parasite Infections

A population of three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculealus, from a pond in Somerset was sampled about every three weeks for 19 months, a total of 1863 fish being collected. Three species of parasites were found in the fish: Schistocephalus solidus, Diplostomum gasterostei and Echinorhynchus clavula.Seasonal changes in the incidence and intensity of the three parasitic infections are described. In general the infections increased in summer and autumn and decreased in winter and spring, although in Schistocephalus the differences in the level of infection between the two years were greater than between seasons.The largest increases in the Schistocephalus and Echinorhynchus infections occurred in August and September and in the Diplostomum infection in May and June. These increases could be related to the feeding activity of the sticklebacks and to the abundance and level of infection of the Cyclops, Asellus and Limnaea pereger populations.Reduction in the sizes of the infections was by predation and death of heavily infected fish in the case of Schistocephalus and Diplostomum and mainly by death of individual worms in Echinorhynchus.These mechanisms are shown to be adapted to the life cycles of the parasites.I am most grateful to Dr H. D. Crofton for his help and encouragement during this investigation and to Dr R. A. Avery for useful discussions and advice. This work was supported by a Science Research Council research studentship and a NATO studentship.

scholarly journals Do algae blooms dilute the risk of trematode infections in threespine sticklebacks?

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 991-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Budria ◽  
Ulrika Candolin
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
The Body ◽  
Filamentous Algae ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Diplostomum Pseudospathaceum ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Trematode Infections ◽  
Macro Algae

Abstract Human-induced growth of macro-algae is often assumed to increase trematode infections in fishes by increasing the abundance and condition of the parasite’s intermediate host – snails – as this can boost the release of trematode larvae, cercariae, from the intermediate hosts. However, macro-algae can also impose barriers to the transmission of cercariae and reduce infections. We investigated whether an increased growth of filamentous algae affects the transmission of Diplostomum pseudospathaceum cercariae to the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, a common fish in eutrophied shallow waters. We exposed sticklebacks to trematode cercariae in the absence and presence of artificial filamentous algae, and recorded effects on the proportion of sticklebacks infected and the number of encysted metacercariae per fish. No significant effect of artificial algae on cercariae transmission was detected. However, the body size and the sex of the sticklebacks were strongly correlated with the number of encysted metacercariae per infected fish, with females and larger individuals being more infected. We discuss different factors that could have caused the difference in parasite transmission, including sex-related differences in body size and behaviour of sticklebacks.

Host mortality and variability in epizootics of Schistocephalus solidus infecting the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus

Parasitology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 137 (11) ◽  
pp. 1681-1686 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. HEINS ◽  
E. L. BIRDEN ◽  
J. A. BAKER
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Intensity Of Infection ◽  
Host Fish ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Second Intermediate Host ◽  
Host Mortality ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors ◽  
Host Behaviour

SUMMARYAn analysis of the metrics of Schistocephalus solidus infection of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, in Walby Lake, Alaska, showed that an epizootic ended between 1996 and 1998 and another occurred between 1998 and 2003. The end of the first epizootic was associated with a crash in population size of the stickleback, which serves as the second intermediate host. The likely cause of the end of that epizootic is mass mortality of host fish over winter in 1996–1997. The deleterious impact of the parasite on host reproduction and increased host predation associated with parasitic manipulation of host behaviour and morphology to facilitate transmission might also have played a role, along with unknown environmental factors acting on heavily infected fish or fish in poor condition. The second epizootic was linked to relatively high levels of prevalence and mean intensity of infection, but parasite:host mass ratios were quite low at the peak and there were no apparent mass deaths of the host. A number of abiotic and biotic factors are likely to interact to contribute to the occurrence of epizootics in S. solidus, which appear to be unstable and variable. Epizootics appear to depend on particular and, at times, rare sets of circumstances.

The consequences of self-fertilization and outcrossing of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus in its second intermediate host

Parasitology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 126 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. CHRISTEN ◽  
M. MILINSKI
Keyword(s):  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Body Cavity ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Mixed Mating ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Self Fertilization ◽  
Second Intermediate Host

Many hermaphroditic parasites reproduce by both cross-fertilization and self-fertilization. To understand the maintenance of such mixed mating systems it is necessary to compare the fitness consequences of the two reproductive modes. This has, however, almost never been done in the context of host–parasite coevolution. Here we show the consequences of outcrossing and selfing in an advanced life-stage of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus, i.e. in its second intermediate host, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Each juvenile stickleback was simultaneously exposed to 2 experimentally infected copepods, one harbouring outcrossed the other selfed parasites. At 60 days p.i. parasites were removed from the fish's body cavity and, with microsatellite markers, assigned to either outcrossed or selfed origin. Prevalence was not significantly higher in outcrossed parasites. However, those fish that were infected contained significantly more outcrossed than selfed parasites. Thus the probability of a selfed parasite to progress in the life-cycle is reduced in the second intermediate host. Furthermore, we found that even the multiply infected fish increased in weight during the experiment. Nevertheless, total worm weight in multiply infected fish was significantly lower than in singly infected ones, which thus might be a parasite life-history strategy.

The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) infection with Schistocephalus solidus in Hel marina (Puck Bay, Baltic Sea, Poland)

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zdeněk Mačát ◽  
Adam Bednařík ◽  
Martin Rulík
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
The Body ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Body Width ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Total Prevalence ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Puck Bay

AbstractParasitic relations between animals are very common in wild nature. In this paper, we studied levels of infection in three-spined stickleback with plerocercoids of Schistocephalus solidus from Puck Bay (Baltic Sea, Poland). The total prevalence of infection was 54.2%, while proportion of infected individuals was significantly higher for females than for males. The body width was found to be significantly positively correlated with the number and the weight of parasites. In spite of the increasing deterioration of the Baltic Sea ecosystem by excessive eutrophication and hypoxia, lower prevalence of infection compared to previous published data indicates that there are likely other factors than pollution affecting the life cycle of parasites and the level of parasitism.

Differences in the parasite infections in three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) of different sex, age and size

Parasitology ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Pennycuick
Keyword(s):  
Research Council ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Female Fish ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Parasite Infections ◽  
The Mean

A population of Gasterosteus aculeatus from Priddy pool in Somerset was infected with three species of parasites: Schistocephalus solidus, Diplostomum gasterostei and Echinorhynchus clavula. The variations in the incidence and intensity of the infections with the sex, age and size of the sticklebacks are described.The infections with the three parasites were very similar in male and female sticklebacks. The weights of Schistocephalus were greater in the females, however;the mean weight of the plerocercoids was larger suggesting that they grew more rapidly in female fish.The Schistocephalus infection increased in small fish, under 1 year of age, but in older larger ones the infection decreased. These changes can be related both to the feeding habits of the fish and to the weight relationships of host and parasite.It was found that the weight of Schistocephalus did not greatly exceed that of the fish, and also that the combined weight of fish plus Schistocephalus was rarely greater than 3 g. Therefore the proportional weight of Schistocephalus, or parasite index, was lower in sticklebacks heavier than about 1·5 g.The Diplostomum and Echinorhynchus infections both increased with age and size of fish, but the largest sticklebacks were not the most heavily infected. These increases can be related to the feeding habits of the fish in the case of Echinorhynchus and to accumulation with time in the case of Diplostomum.In all three species the largest and oldest fish were not the most heavily infected.It is suggested that the old fish are becoming senile and are therefore less able to support large parasite burdens.I am very grateful to Dr H. D. Crofton for his constant advice and encouragement during this study, and to Dr R. A. Avery for useful discussions. This work was supported by a Science Research Council research studentship and by a NATO studentship.

Segregation and co-occurrence of larval cestodes in freshwater fishes in the Bothnian Bay, Finland

Parasitology ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. I. Andersen ◽  
E. T. Valtonen
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Definitive Host ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Fish Host ◽  
Cestode Species ◽  
Larval Population ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Bothnian Bay ◽  
Diphyllobothrium Latum

SUMMARYTwo autogenic (Triaenophorus crassus and T. nodulosus) and four allogenic (Diphyllobothrium latum, D. dendriticum, D. ditremum and Schistocephalus solidus) larval cestode species were found in 13 out of 31 fish species studied from the Bothnian Bay, NE Baltic. Gasterosteus aculeatus was the most heavily infected fish with 4 larval cestode species; for two of them (D. ditremum and S. solidus) the three-spined stickleback was found to be the required fish intermediate host. Among allogenic cestode species, those restricted to different definitive host species segregated their larval population in relation to the fish host, while, for example, D. ditremum and S. solidus, both maturing in fish-eating birds, had the highest percentage of co-occurrences. D. dendriticum, which had the widest range of definitive hosts, was found in the greatest number (8) of fish species and co-occurred with all other species found except T. crassus. The two autogenic species totally segregated their larval population from each other although they both require pike as definitive host. The ecological and evolutionary relationships behind the patterns found for larval cestodes are discussed.

Incidence and intensity of Cyathocephalus truncatus and Schistocephalus solidus infection in Gasterosteus aculeatus

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1091-1095 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. E. Reimchen
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Attachment Site ◽  
Relative Increase ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Host Feeding ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Queen Charlotte Islands ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Different Seasons

Cyathocephalus truncatus, a cestode usually found in salmonids, and plerocercoids of Schistocephalus solidus are reported from a population of Gasterosteus aculeatus on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Adult C. truncatus attached at the anterior of the intestine adjacent to the pyloric sphincter, whereas in salmonids the pyloric caeca is the usual attachment site. Mean intensities of infection for C. truncatus and S. solidus were 2.7 (maximum 26) and 3.4 (maximum 87), respectively, with intensities increasing in larger fish. The highest incidence of C. truncatus infection was from February to May (80%) and for S. solidus, from April to September (50%). Infection rates for C. truncatus during different seasons and among different length classes offish were directly correlated with the relative abundance of amphipods (the intermediate hosts of C. truncatus) in the fish stomachs. Possible modification of host feeding behaviour is indicated by a relative increase in the consumption of amphipods by infected fish.

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