Search results for "Ectoparasites"
showing 7 items of 7 documents
Acting locally - affecting globally: RNA sequencing of gilthead sea bream with a mild Sparicotyle chrysophrii infection reveals effects on apoptosis,…
2019
[Background] Monogenean flatworms are the main fish ectoparasites inflicting serious economic losses in aquaculture. The polyopisthocotylean Sparicotyle chrysophrii parasitizes the gills of gilthead sea bream (GSB, Sparus aurata) causing anaemia, lamellae fusion and sloughing of epithelial cells, with the consequent hypoxia, emaciation, lethargy and mortality. Currently no preventive or curative measures against this disease exist and therefore information on the host-parasite interaction is crucial to find mitigation solutions for sparicotylosis. The knowledge about gene regulation in monogenean-host models mostly comes from freshwater monopysthocotyleans and almost nothing is known about …
The role of maternal effects in host-parasite interactions: examination of the development of the immune defense in a colonial seabird, the black-leg…
2004
One of the main aims of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanisms responsible for the phenotypic variation on which natural selection can act. Maternal effects occur when a mother's phenotype or her environment influence her offspring's phenotype. Despite the importance of such effects for the ecology of host-parasite interactions, their role has been relatively neglected to date. In this thesis, we examined how mothers influence the immune defense of their young in an environment that varies in space and time. This work has primarily focused on a colonial seabird, the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Using this model, we have first shown that specific maternal antibodi…
Squamation and ecology of thelodonts
2017
Thelodonts are an enigmatic group of Paleozoic jawless vertebrates that have been well studied from taxonomical, biostratigraphic and paleogeographic points of view, although our knowledge of their ecology and mode of life is still scant. Their bodies were covered by micrometric scales whose morphology, histology and the developmental process are extremely similar to those of extant sharks. Based on these similarities and on the well-recognized relationship between squamation and ecology in sharks, here we explore the ecological diversity and lifestyles of thelodonts. For this we use classic morphometrics and discriminant analysis to characterize the squamation patterns of a significant num…
The Spatial Distribution of Perch (Perca fluviatilis) Ectoparasites and the Effect of Chemical Water Quality Parameters on Ectoparasite Spatial Niche…
2018
Abstract Seasonal changes of abiotic factors and their influence on parasite occurrence have repeatedly been studied. Most of the studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of water physicochemical parameters on changes in the intensity of infection, prevalence and component community of a number of parasite species. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the link between water quality parameters and spatial niche size of ectoparasites. The distribution of ectoparasite species on perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) was studied to establish whether seasonal changes of water quality parameters are associated with ectoparasite spatial niche size. The concentration of phosphates (PO4…
Behavioural adaptations of argulid parasites (Crustacea: Branchiura) to major challenges in their life cycle.
2015
Fish lice (Argulus spp.) are obligate ectoparasites, which contrary to most aquatic parasites, retain the ability to swim freely throughout the whole of their life. In fish farms, they can quickly increase in numbers and without effective control cause argulosis, which results in the reduced growth and survival of their fish hosts. The morphology of Argulus spp, including their sensory organs, is suitable for both parasitism and free-swimming. By spending a considerable amount of time away from their host, these parasites risk being excessively dispersed, which could endanger mating success. Here we present a review of recent studies on the behaviour of Argulus spp, especially the aggregati…
Repeatability of Feather Mite Prevalence and Intensity in Passerine Birds
2014
Understanding why host species differ so much in symbiont loads and how this depends on ecological host and symbiont traits is a major issue in the ecology of symbiosis. A first step in this inquiry is to know whether observed differences among host species are species-specific traits or more related with host-symbiont environmental conditions. Here we analysed the repeatability (R) of the intensity and the prevalence of feather mites to partition within- and among-host species variance components. We compiled the largest dataset so far available: 119 Paleartic passerine bird species, 75,944 individual birds, ca. 1.8 million mites, seven countries, 23 study years. Several analyses and appro…
Behavioural adaptations of argulid parasites (Crustacea: Branchiura) to major challenges in their life cycle
2015
Fish lice (Argulus spp.) are obligate ectoparasites, which contrary to most aquatic parasites, retain the ability to swim freely throughout the whole of their life. In fish farms, they can quickly increase in numbers and without effective control cause argulosis, which results in the reduced growth and survival of their fish hosts. The morphology of Argulus spp, including their sensory organs, is suitable for both parasitism and free-swimming. By spending a considerable amount of time away from their host, these parasites risk being excessively dispersed, which could endanger mating success. Here we present a review of recent studies on the behaviour of Argulus spp, especially the aggregati…