RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIRULENCE AND FECUNDITY OF SALMON LICE (LEPEOPHTHEIRUS SALMONIS KROYER, 1837) PARASITISING ATLANTIC SALMON (SALMO SALAR L.); EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
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| Year of publication | 2006 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The theory of virulence depends on the crucial assumption that an increase in parasite virulence is rewarded with a higher fecundity. In the present study, this hypothesis was tested using experimental infections of salmon smolt infected by Lepeophtheirus salmonis. During spring 2005, 75 salmon smolt were exposed to three different strains of salmon lice; two laboratory and one wild strain collected from the natural conditions. The fish were investigated 58 days post infection. A total of 2370 adult parasites (sex ratio approximately 1:1) were collected. The intensity of infection fluctuated from 17 to 70 parasites per fish. The length of the first egg-strings, date of the „first“ hatching, hatching success (the number of copepods) were different among the studied strains. A range of host parameters which were assumed to be associated with parasite virulence, such as hematocrit, chloride ion concentration and parasite pathology (damaged area and character of damage), were measured. Some of these indicators of virulence were found to be correlated with parasite fecundity. |
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