Search results for "host"
showing 10 items of 1982 documents
Ultraviolet B Irradiation Affects Resistance of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Against Bacterium Yersinia ruckeri and Trematode Diplostomum spat…
2007
Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation is known to have various effects on the immune system of fish, but the effect on the actual disease resistance has remained largely unknown. Here we studied the effect of UVB on the resistance of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) against a bacterium Yersinia ruckeri, the causative agent of enteric red mouth disease, and a trematode parasite Diplostomum spathaceum, which causes cataracts in fish. The fish were exposed to UVB irradiation seven times in 14 days, and inoculated intraperitoneally with Y. ruckeri on day 5 after the first irradiation. On day 2 postinfection (p.i.), the number of viable bacteria in the kidney was lower in UVB-exposed than in unexpose…
Humoral response of roach (Rutilus rutilus) to digenean Rhipidocotyle fennica infection
1997
The humoral immune response of roach (Rutilus rutilus) to cercariae of the digenean trematode, Rhipidocotyle fennica, was studied. Antibodies against R. fennica were found in wild roach in lakes where fish are infected by the parasite. Antibody levels were higher in sera collected in September than in sera collected in June, due to infection of R. fennica during the late summer. In experimental aquarium studies, roach immunized with homogenized cercariae produced antibodies against R. fennica. An especially strong response was elicited by infecting fish with living cercariae emerging from infected clams. The specificity of the antibodies, as shown in Western blots, was different between fis…
Parasite resistance and avoidance behaviour in preventing eye fluke infections in fish.
2004
This paper examines the efficiency of acquired resistance in protecting the fish host, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), against the trematode parasite Diplostomum spathaceum, and the hypothesis that fish recognize areas where infective stages are aggregated and show avoidance behaviour. We found that when fish with a low level of infection were held in restricted cages in natural conditions they became infected and developed cataracts as a result of this infection. This suggests that acquired resistance is insufficient in protecting fish against the parasite or the deleterious effects of infection in conditions where fish could not avoid the parasite. Behavioural experiments in the labo…
Increased susceptibility to predation and altered anti-predator behaviour in an acanthocephalan-infected amphipod.
2007
7 pages; International audience; According to the 'parasitic manipulation hypothesis', phenotypic changes induced by parasites in their intermediate hosts are effective means of increasing trophic transmission to final hosts. One obvious prediction, although seldom tested, is that increased vulnerability of infected prey to an appropriate predator should be achieved by the parasite altering the anti-predator behaviour of its intermediate host. In this study, we tested this prediction using the fish acanthocephalan Pomphorhynchus tereticollis and the freshwater amphipod Gammarus pulex. Firstly, we estimated the relative vulnerability of infected and uninfected gammarids to predation by the b…
Infection with acanthocephalans increases the vulnerability of Gammarus pulex (Crustacea, Amphipoda) to non-host invertebrate predators.
2008
SUMMARYPhenotypic alterations induced by parasites in their intermediate hosts often result in enhanced trophic transmission to appropriate final hosts. However, such alterations may also increase the vulnerability of intermediate hosts to predation by non-host species. We studied the influence of both infection with 3 different acanthocephalan parasites (Pomphorhynchus laevis, P. tereticollis, and Polymorphus minutus) and the availability of refuges on the susceptibility of the amphipod Gammarus pulex to predation by 2 non-host predators in microcosms. Only infection with P. laevis increased the vulnerability of amphipods to predation by crayfish, Orconectes limosus. In contrast, in the ab…
Host manipulation of a freshwater crustacean (Gammarus roeseli) by an acanthocephalan parasite (Polymorphus minutus) in a biological invasion context.
2006
8 pages; International audience; Several gammarid species serve as intermediate hosts for the acanthocephalan parasite Polymorphus minutus. This parasite influences gammarid behaviour in order to favour transmission to its ultimate host, generally a bird. We investigated this host manipulation in Gammarus roeseli, a gammarid species introduced in France 150 years ago which now coexists with several exotic species from different origins. In the field, vertical distribution of G. roeseli revealed a higher proportion of infected individuals close to the water's surface and the size distribution of infected gammarids revealed predation pressure on infected individuals. However, under laboratory…
Introduction. Ecological immunology.
2009
12 pages; International audience; An organism's fitness is critically reliant on its immune system to provide protection against parasites and pathogens. The structure of even simple immune systems is surprisingly complex and clearly will have been moulded by the organism's ecology. The aim of this review and the theme issue is to examine the role of different ecological factors on the evolution of immunity. Here, we will provide a general framework of the field by contextualizing the main ecological factors, including interactions with parasites, other types of biotic as well as abiotic interactions, intraspecific selective constraints (life-history trade-offs, sexual selection) and popula…
Modification of hosts' behavior by a parasite: field evidence for adaptive manipulation.
2007
9 pages; International audience; Parasites relying on trophic transmission to complete their life cycles often induce modifications of their host's behavior in ways that may increase their susceptibility to predation by final hosts. These modifications have often been interpreted as parasite adaptations, but very few studies have demonstrated that host manipulation has fitness benefits for the parasite. The aim of the present study was to address the adaptive significance of parasite manipulation by coupling observations of behavioral manipulation to estimates of trophic transmission to the definitive host in the natural environment. We show that the acanthocephalan parasite Pomphorhynchus …
Manipulative parasites may not alter intermediate host distribution but still enhance their transmission: field evidence for increased vulnerability …
2013
SUMMARYBehavioural alterations induced by parasites in their intermediate hosts can spatially structure host populations, possibly resulting in enhanced trophic transmission to definitive hosts. However, such alterations may also increase intermediate host vulnerability to non-host predators. Parasite-induced behavioural alterations may thus vary between parasite species and depend on each parasite definitive host species. We studied the influence of infection with 2 acanthocephalan parasites (Echinorhynchus truttae and Polymorphus minutus) on the distribution of the amphipod Gammarus pulex in the field. Predator presence or absence and predator species, whether suitable definitive host or …
Carotenoid-based colour of acanthocephalan cystacanths plays no role in host manipulation.
2009
Manipulation by parasites is a catchy concept that has been applied to a large range of phenotypic alterations brought about by parasites in their hosts. It has, for instance, been suggested that the carotenoid-based colour of acanthocephalan cystacanths is adaptive through increasing the conspicuousness of infected intermediate hosts and, hence, their vulnerability to appropriate final hosts such as fish predators. We revisited the evidence in favour of adaptive coloration of acanthocephalan parasites in relation to increased trophic transmission using the crustacean amphipodGammarus pulexand two species of acanthocephalans,Pomphorhynchus laevisandPolymorphus minutus. Both species show car…