Virulence of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus and reproduction in infected threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (12) ◽  
pp. 1967-1974 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C Heins ◽  
Scarlet S Singer ◽  
John A Baker
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
South Central ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Chi Squared ◽  
Parasite Relationship ◽  
Host Parasite

We investigated the relationship between reproduction in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and parasitism by plerocercoids of the cestode Schistocephalus solidus in Walby Lake, Alaska, by quantifying stickleback reproduction and parasite infection using 1655 fish from four samples collected in 1990-1996. Stickleback in Walby Lake largely spawned during May and June as 2-year-olds in the second spring-summer after hatching, as was the case with other stickleback populations we studied in south-central Alaska. Contrary to an earlier hypothesis that S. solidus has been selected to delay its deleterious effects on threespine stickleback, i.e., limit its infection levels, until after the stickleback have reproduced, substantial levels of parasitic infection co-occurred with the stickleback reproductive period. Chi-squared analyses of individual samples suggested that in May, infected females were as capable of producing clutches of eggs as uninfected females but in June, S. solidus inhibited clutch production. An overall analysis, however, failed to support the hypothesis that the effect of S. solidus on clutch production differed between early and late periods of the spawning season. We concluded that S. solidus inhibits the ability of female stickleback in Walby Lake to produce a clutch, and that there was no differential effect on clutch production with season. Nonetheless, 77% of all infected females produced clutches. These results contrast with those of one study in which it was found only 9% of infected females became gravid (ripe) and another report that 23% of infected females were able to mature. We offer hypotheses for the co-occurrence of stickleback reproduction and substantial parasitism at the population level and for the ability of a large proportion of infected females to produce clutches. Our results suggest that the host-parasite relationship is more complex than was previously realized.

Some effects of the cestode (Schistocephalus solidus) on reproduction in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus): evolutionary aspects of a host–parasite interaction

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 901-908 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. McPhail ◽  
S. D. Peacock
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Egg Number ◽  
Gravid Females ◽  
Host Parasite ◽  
Evolutionary Aspects ◽  
Sexually Mature

Monthly samples of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) were collected from May through September 1975 from Fuller Lake, Vancouver Island. A total of 2175 adult sticklebacks were collected from 10 trap sites located at depths ranging from 0.25 to 5 m. These samples were assayed for length, weight, sex, state of maturity, and egg number (when applicable). In addition, we recorded the number and weight of the plerocercoids of a cestode tapeworm (Schistocephalus solidus) often found in the abdominal cavities of sticklebacks. The purpose of the study was to document the effects of Schistocephalus on reproduction in Gasterosteus. Stickleback spawning reached a peak in June and declined sharply through July and August. Over the entire breeding season, less than 5% of the gravid females were infected with Schistocephalus, whereas over 40% of the sexually mature but nongravid females were infected. There was no difference between breeding and nonbreeding males in the prevalence of Schistocephalus. In both sexes, the prevalence and severity of Schistocephalus infection were low in May, June, and July but increased sharply through August and September. Since the majority of Fuller Lake sticklebacks live for 1 year, the major adverse effects of Schistocephalus were confined to postreproductive adults. We hypothesize that Schistocephalus plerocercoids have been selected to delay adverse effects on their host until after the host has reproduced.

Human-induced eutrophication maintains high parasite prevalence in breeding threespine stickleback populations

Parasitology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 142 (5) ◽  
pp. 719-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALEXANDRE BUDRIA ◽  
ULRIKA CANDOLIN
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Parasite Prevalence ◽  
Predation Rate ◽  
Infected Fish ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Host Parasite ◽  
High Parasite

SUMMARYAnthropogenic activities are having profound impacts on species interactions, with further consequences for populations and communities. We investigated the influence that anthropogenic eutrophication has on the prevalence of the parasitic tapeworm Schistocephalus solidus in threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus populations. We caught stickleback from four areas along the coast of Finland, and within each area from one undisturbed and one eutrophied habitat. We found the prevalence of the parasite to be lower in the eutrophied habitats at the start of the breeding season, probably because of fewer piscivorous birds that transmit the parasite. However, while the prevalence of the parasite declined across the season in the undisturbed habitat, it did less so in eutrophied habitats. We discuss different processes that could be behind the differences, such as lower predation rate on infected fish, higher food availability and less dispersal in eutrophied habitats. We found no effect of eutrophication on the proportion of infected stickleback that entered reproductive condition. Together with earlier findings, this suggests that eutrophication increases the proportion of infected stickleback that reproduce. This could promote the evolution of less parasite resistant populations, with potential consequences for the viability of the interacting parties of the host–parasite system.

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.

scholarly journals The three-spined stickleback-Schistocephalus solidussystem: an experimental model for investigating host-parasite interactions in fish

Parasitology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. BARBER ◽  
J. P. SCHARSACK
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Laboratory Model ◽  
Host Fish ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Host Parasite Interactions ◽  
Experimental Laboratory ◽  
Host Parasite ◽  
Host Behaviour

SUMMARYPlerocercoids of the pseudophyllidean cestodeSchistocephalus solidusinfect the three-spined sticklebackGasterosteus aculeatus, with important consequences for the biology of host fish. Techniques for culturing the parasitein vitroand generating infective stages that can be used to infect sticklebacks experimentally have been developed, and the system is increasingly used as a laboratory model for investigating aspects of host-parasite interactions. Recent experimental laboratory studies have focused on the immune responses of hosts to infection, the consequences of infection for the growth and reproductive development of host fish and the effects of infection on host behaviour. Here we introduce the host and the parasite, review the major findings of these recent experimental infection studies and identify further aspects of host parasite interactions that might be investigated using the system.

The dynamics of the host-parasite relationship

Parasitology ◽  
1965 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Dineen ◽  
A. D. Donald ◽  
B. M. Wagland ◽  
Jan Offner
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Immunological Response ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
Infective Larvae ◽  
Parasite Relationship ◽  
Group 3 ◽  
Host Parasite ◽  
Group 1

Two groups of sheep born and raised worm-free were dosed with 3000 infective Haemonchus contortus larvae. Group 1 were each given a single dose of infective larvae on day 0 while the group 3 animals were dosed with 100 infective larvae per day for 30 consecutive days. The results of faecal worm-egg counts performed on alternative days, and of differential worm counts carried out on animals slaughtered at crucial times during the course of infection, showed that retardation of development at the 4th larval stage occurred in the group 3 infections and was the major effect of control of the parasitic burden. There was no evidence that egg production per female was affected.Three animals of the nineteen infected in group 1 died during the course of the experiment owing to the pathogenic effects of the worm burden. Deaths did not occur among the animals of group 3. This finding was correlated with the observation that haematocrit levels were consistently lower among the animals of group 1 than among those of group 3.The results are interpreted in terms of the theory of threshold behaviour of the immunological response to parasitic infection.We are greatly indebted to Dr D. F. Stewart for his interest and constructive criticism during the course of these studies, and to Mr E. Teleki and Misses Helen Giller and Lindy Stothart for their valuable technical assistance.

scholarly journals Elevated temperatures drive the evolution of armor loss in the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Smith ◽  
Grzegorz Zięba ◽  
Mirosław Przybylski
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Correlated Response ◽  
Reduced Body ◽  
Bayesian Spatial Model

AbstractWhile there is evidence of genetic and phenotypic responses to climate change, few studies have demonstrated change in functional traits with a known genetic basis. Here we present evidence for an evolutionary adaptive response to elevated temperatures in freshwater populations of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Using a unique set of historical data and museum specimens, in combination with contemporary samples, we fitted a Bayesian spatial model to identify a population-level decline in the number of lateral bony plates, comprising anti-predator armor, in multiple populations of sticklebacks over the last 90 years in Poland. Armor loss was predicted by elevated temperatures and is proposed to be a correlated response to selection for reduced body size. This study demonstrates a change in a functional trait of known genetic basis in response to elevated temperature, and illustrates the utility of the threespine stickleback as a model for measuring the evolutionary and ecological impacts of environmental change across the northern hemisphere.

Estimating effective population size for a cestode parasite infecting three-spined sticklebacks

Parasitology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 146 (07) ◽  
pp. 883-896
Author(s):  
Hannah M. Strobel ◽  
Sara J. Hays ◽  
Kristine N. Moody ◽  
Michael J. Blum ◽  
David C. Heins
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Microsatellite Data ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Cestode Parasite ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Host Parasite Interactions ◽  
Parasite Evolution ◽  
Host Parasite

AbstractRemarkably few attempts have been made to estimate contemporary effective population size (Ne) for parasitic species, despite the valuable perspectives it can offer on the tempo and pace of parasite evolution as well as coevolutionary dynamics of host–parasite interactions. In this study, we utilized multi-locus microsatellite data to derive single-sample and temporal estimates of contemporaryNefor a cestode parasite (Schistocephalus solidus) as well as three-spined stickleback hosts (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in lakes across Alaska. Consistent with prior studies, both approaches recovered small and highly variable estimates of parasite and hostNe. We also found that estimates of hostNeand parasiteNewere sensitive to assumptions about population genetic structure and connectivity. And, while prior work on the stickleback–cestode system indicates that physiographic factors external to stickleback hosts largely govern genetic variation inS. solidus, our findings indicate that stickleback host attributes and factors internal to the host – namely body length, genetic diversity and infection – shape contemporaryNeof cestode parasites.

scholarly journals A eDNA-qPCR assay to non-invasively detect the presence of the parasiteSchistocephalus solidusinside its threespine stickleback host

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloé Suzanne Berger ◽  
Nadia Aubin-Horth
Keyword(s):  
Detection Method ◽  
Abdominal Cavity ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Schistocephalus Solidus ◽  
Host Parasite Interactions ◽  
Ventilation Rates ◽  
Host Parasite

ABSTRACTDetecting the presence of a parasite within its host is crucial to the study of host-parasite interactions. TheSchistocephalus solidus- threespine stickleback pair has been studied extensively to investigate host phenotypic alterations associated with a parasite with a complex life cycle. This cestode is localized inside the stickleback’s abdominal cavity and can be visually detected only once it passes a mass threshold. We present a non-invasive quantitative PCR approach based on detection of environmental DNA from the worm(eDNA),sampled in the fish abdominal cavity. Using this approach on two fish populations (n=151), 98% of fish were correctly assigned to theirS. solidusinfection status. There was a significant correlation between eDNA concentration and total parasitic mass. We also assessed ventilation rates as a complimentary mean to detect infection. Our eDNA detection method gives a reliable presence/absence response and its future use for quantitative assessment is promising.

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