The Effect of Echinorhynchus borealis (Acanthocephala) Infection on the Anti-Predator Behavior of a Benthic Amphipod

2008

In benthic habitats, predators can generally not be detected visually, so olfaction may be particularly important for inducing anti-predation behaviors in prey organisms. Manipulative parasites infecting benthic hosts could suppress these responses so as to increase the probability of predation and thus trophic transmission. We studied how infection with the acanthocephalan Echinorhynchus borealis affects the response of the benthic amphipod Pallasea quadrispinosa to water conditioned by burbot (Lota lota), the parasite's definitive host. In normal lake water, refuge use by infected and uninfected amphipods was similar, but when exposed to burbot-conditioned water, uninfected amphipods spen…