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.

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.

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.

Appraising Behaviour During Male-male Interaction in the Japanese Horned Beetle Trypoxylus Dichotomus Septentrionalis (Kono)

Behaviour ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihito Hongo
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
Horn Length ◽  
Horned Beetle ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Contest Behaviour ◽  
Trypoxylus Dichotomus ◽  
Stage 1

AbstractDetailed contest behaviour of the Japanese horned beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus septentrionalis, was examined in the field. Male-male interactions have three sequences, and in these sequences four behavioural stages were recognized. After two males encountered (Stage 1), they always faced and shoved each other with their horns (Stage 2: 'Shoving'). Then, if the horn length or body size difference between the contestants was large, one male began to retreat and was chased by the other male, and the interactions terminated (Stage 4A: 'Chasing'). If the difference was small, the interactions proceeded to the escalated fighting stage (Stage 3: 'Pry'), in which two males put their horns under their opponents and push and try to flip them up each other. The interactions, which proceeded to Stage 3, have two ways of termination. If the body size difference was large, one male was flipped up by the other male, and the interactions was terminated quickly (Stage 4B). If the difference was small, the interactions was not terminated so quickly and continued until one male began to retreat, proceeding to Stage 4A. It is suggested that males with shorter horns relative to the opponents avoid the escalated fighting stage, 'Pry', after perceiving the horn length difference during 'Shoving', which would be an appraising behaviour. Thus, 'Shoving' is the most important stage among all the interaction processes in that the highest proportion of judgement is made here. The great allometric variation of horn length would presently function more greatly for enhancing the efficiency of mutual appraisal than that in actual fighting.

A STUDY OF SIZE INHERITANCE IN THE HOUSE MOUSE: II. ANALYSIS OF FIVE PRELIMINARY CROSSES

1952 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Butler
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Litter Size ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
The Body ◽  
Hybrid Vigor ◽  
Female Body Size ◽  
Large Litter ◽  
Respective Parent ◽  
Selection Experiments ◽  
The Difference

Five crosses were made between mice of different body size, and over 2000 mice were raised in the F1, F2, and backcross generations. The body weight at 60 days after birth was used as the criterion of size. The male means were always larger than the corresponding female means and the difference in weight between the two sexes increased progressively with body size. Litter size and sequence had no effect on body size. The adequacy of the gram scale was tested with inconclusive results which indicated that in at least two crosses some other scale should be used. Log-grams were substituted for grams and gave a good fit in cross No. 3 but not in crosses Nos. 1 and 2. The evidence from selection experiments, environmental variability, and sex differences in size indicate that on a gram scale at least part of the factors which affect body size are proportionate rather than additive in nature. In all five crosses the F1 and F2 means are intermediate between the parents. The backcross means are halfway between the F1 and the respective parent. Only one cross showed increased size in the F1 which might be interpreted as due to heterosis. Reciprocal crosses gave significantly different results and the dissimilarity was carried over into the next generation. This difference was attributed to the environmental effects of female body size. As expected, the variances of the P1's and the F1 were similar but, contrary to expectation, the F2 variance was no larger than that of the F1. Litter size showed a different type of inheritance. One cross between P1's with mean litter sizes of 5.1 and 10.2 gave an F1 mean of 13.2 young. This was tentatively interpreted as dominance of large litter size and hybrid vigor allowing more embryoes to reach parturition.

Influence of the pseudophyllidean cestode Schistocephalus solidus on oocyte development in the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus

Parasitology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 137 (7) ◽  
pp. 1151-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. HEINS ◽  
N. J. BROWN-PETERSON
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Secondary Growth ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Spawning Season ◽  
Oocyte Development ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Primary Growth ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Ovulatory Follicles

SUMMARYThe objective of this study was to investigate the means by which Schistocephalus solidus might reduce annual fecundity in female threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) through processes of oocyte development. Histological examinations of specimens from one lake in Alaska in 2000 and 2001 were used to analyse the effects of S. solidus on recruitment of primary growth oocytes into vitellogenesis, atresia of vitellogenic oocytes, and the interspawning interval. The ratio of primary growth to late secondary growth (late vitellogenic) oocytes was significantly greater (P<0·01) among infected fish than uninfected ones in early-season samples from 2000 and 2001, revealing a decrease in recruitment of oocytes from primary growth into vitellogenic oocytes among infected females. The difference was marginally non-significant (P=0·087) in a mid-season sample from 2001 due to reductions in the entire pool of vitellogenic (early and late secondary growth) oocytes recruited prior to the spawning season in this determinate-fecundity species. Atresia among all vitellogenic oocytes was low and did not differ between infected and uninfected females. Histological estimations of the interspawning interval using post-ovulatory follicles showed no significant differences between infected and uninfected fish, suggesting that the number of spawnings in stickleback females each spawning season is unaffected by S. solidus infection. Thus, annual fecundity appears to be reduced only through recruitment of oocytes into vitellogenesis.

Are solo infections of the diphyllobothriidean cestode Schistocephalus solidus more virulent than multiple infections?

Parasitology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Heins ◽  
Kristine N. Moody ◽  
Sophia Miller
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
The Body ◽  
Multiple Infections ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWe performed a long-term natural experiment investigating the impact of the diphyllobotriidean cestode Schistocephalus solidus on the body condition and clutch size (CS) of threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, its second intermediate host, and the growth of larval parasites in host fish. We tested the hypothesis that single S. solidus infections were more virulent than multiple infections. We also asked whether the metrics of mean and total parasite mass (proxies for individual and total volume, respectively) were consistent with predictions of the resource constraints or the life history strategy (LHS) hypothesis for the growth of, hence exploitation by, larval helminths in intermediate hosts. The samples were drawn from Walby Lake, Alaska in eight of 11 years. Host body condition and CS (egg number per spawning bout) decreased significantly with intensity after adjustments for host size and parasite index. Thus, infections have an increasingly negative impact on measures of host fitness with greater intensity, in contrast to the hypothesis that single infections are more harmful than multiple infections. We also found that mean parasite mass decreased with intensity while total parasite mass increased with intensity as predicted by the LHS hypothesis.

scholarly journals Host behavior alteration by its parasite: from brain gene expression to functional test

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Grecias ◽  
Francois Olivier Hebert ◽  
Verônica Angelica Alves ◽  
Iain Barber ◽  
Nadia Aubin-Horth
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Avian Host ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Altered Expression ◽  
Brain Gene Expression ◽  
Successful Infection

ABSTRACTMany parasites with complex life cycles modify their intermediate hosts’ behaviour, presumably to increase transmission to their final host. The threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is an intermediate host in the cestode Schistocephalus solidus life cycle, which ends in an avian host, and shows increased risky behaviours when infected. We studied brain gene expression profiles of sticklebacks infected with S.solidus to determine the proximal causes of these behavioural alterations. We show that infected fish have altered expression levels in genes involved in the inositol pathway. We thus tested the functional implication of this pathway and successfully rescued normal behaviours in infected sticklebacks using lithium exposure. We also show that exposed but uninfected fish have a distinct gene expression profile from both infected fish and control individuals, allowing us to separate gene activity related to parasite exposure from consequences of a successful infection. Finally, we find that Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI)-treated sticklebacks and infected fish do not have similarly altered gene expression, despite their comparable behaviours, suggesting that the serotonin pathway is probably not the main driver of phenotypic changes in infected sticklebacks. Taken together, our results allow us to predict that if S.solidus directly manipulates its host, it could target the inositol pathway.

scholarly journals A Proposal for Clothing Size Recommendation System Using Chinese Online Shopping Malls: The New Era of Data

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 11215
Author(s):  
Ying Yuan ◽  
Myung-Ja Park ◽  
Jun-Ho Huh
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Recommendation System ◽  
Online Shopping ◽  
The Body ◽  
National Standard ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Lower Accuracy ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Size Data

Research was conducted in this study to design data-based size recommendation and size coding systems specifically for online shopping malls, expecting to lighten the burden of holding excessive inventories often caused by the high return rate in these online malls. The recommendation system has been implemented focusing mainly on size extraction and recommendation functions along with a UI (user interface). For the former function, data are necessary to extract customers’ sizes and, for instance, the system to be used in China adopts their Chinese standard body size GB/T (Chinese national standard) considering that there are a variety of body types in their substantial population. The system shows the most similar size dataset among the body size GB/T dataset to the customer once he/she inputs his/her height and weight. Each GB/T data was entered after categorizing it according to the proportion between height and weight. For the latter function, size recommendation, size coding was performed first for all the clothes by the shop owner by entering individual size data. The clothes providing the most suitable fit for the customer are recommended by the selection of that which has the smallest deviation between coded clothes size and the customer body data after performing a series of comparative calculations. To validate the effectiveness of the extraction, a method that checks whether the difference between extracted size and the body size that has been measured remains within the error range of 4cm was used. The result showed there to be an approximate 88% matching rate for women and a slightly lower accuracy of 80% for men. Moreover, the error rate was relatively smaller for the upper half clothing such as shirts, jackets, and blouses or one-piece dresses. Such a result may have been generated since the GB/T data were actually the average data entered 10 years prior without categorizing nationalities, ages, and body types in detail. This research emphasized the necessity of a database containing a more segmented human body size data, which can be effective for extracting and recommending sizes more accurately as the latest ones continue to accumulate.

scholarly journals Host behaviour alteration by its parasite: from brain gene expression to functional test

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1938) ◽  
pp. 20202252
Author(s):  
Lucie Grecias ◽  
Francois Olivier Hebert ◽  
Verônica Angelica Alves ◽  
Iain Barber ◽  
Nadia Aubin-Horth
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Avian Host ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Altered Expression ◽  
Brain Gene Expression ◽  
Successful Infection

Many parasites with complex life cycles modify their intermediate hosts' behaviour, presumably to increase transmission to their final host. The threespine stickleback ( Gasterosteus aculeatus ) is an intermediate host in the cestode Schistocephalus solidus life cycle, which ends in an avian host, and shows increased risky behaviours when infected. We studied brain gene expression profiles of sticklebacks infected with S. solidus to determine the proximal causes of these behavioural alterations. We show that infected fish have altered expression levels in genes involved in the inositol pathway. We thus tested the functional implication of this pathway and successfully rescued normal behaviours in infected sticklebacks using lithium exposure. We also show that exposed but uninfected fish have a distinct gene expression profile from both infected fish and control individuals, allowing us to separate gene activity related to parasite exposure from consequences of a successful infection. Finally, we find that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-treated sticklebacks and infected fish do not have similarly altered gene expression, despite their comparable behaviours, suggesting that the serotonin pathway is probably not the main driver of phenotypic changes in infected sticklebacks. Taken together, our results allow us to predict that if S. solidus directly manipulates its host, it could target the inositol pathway.

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