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Upstream-downstream gradient in infection levels by fish parasites: a common river pattern?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2012

ISABEL BLASCO-COSTA ,
ANSON V. KOEHLER ,
ALICE MARTIN  and
ROBERT POULIN
ISABEL BLASCO-COSTA*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
ANSON V. KOEHLER
Affiliation:
Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
ALICE MARTIN
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
ROBERT POULIN
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic. Tel: +420 387775484. E-mail: Isa.Blasco.Costa@gmail.com
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Summary

Physical habitat structure can influence the distribution and abundance of organisms. In rivers, stream drift, a common process originating from the unidirectional water flow, favours the displacement and downstream dispersion of invertebrates. This process could also generate a gradient in infection levels, leading to decreasing numbers of parasites per host as one moves upstream from the river mouth. We tested this hypothesis using 4 trematode species infecting the fish Gobiomorphus breviceps in the Manuherikia River (New Zealand). We analysed the abundance of each trematode infrapopulation as a function of distance from the river junction and fish size by generalized linear models. Our results supported the existence of a longitudinal gradient in trematode abundance along the river with a decreasing downstream-to-upstream continuum. This applied to 3 out of the 4 trematode species studied, suggesting that this might be a common pattern in river populations. Thus, the unidirectional river flow and a major process like drift in lotic systems, that influences the dynamics and distribution of invertebrate hosts, can also affect trematodes. Host properties like habitat preference, and parasite traits, particularly those related to transmission mode can influence the strength of the observed gradient, as may other environmental and biotic factors.

Keywords

trematode abundanceunidirectional river flowinfection patternsdiseaseRiver Continuum ConceptfreshwaterCoitocaecum parvumTelogaster opisthorchisStegodexamene anguillaeApatemon sp

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 140 , Issue 2 , February 2013 , pp. 266 - 274
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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