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Eye fluke-induced cataracts in natural fish populations: is there potential for host manipulation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2010

O. SEPPÄLÄ ,
A. KARVONEN  and
E. T. VALTONEN
O. SEPPÄLÄ*
Affiliation:
EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and ETH-Zürich, Institute of Integrative Biology, Überlandstrasse 133, PO Box 611, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
A. KARVONEN
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Centre of Excellence in Evolutionary Research, PO Box 35, FIN-40014, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
E. T. VALTONEN
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, PO Box 35, FIN-40014, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
*
*Corresponding author: EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and ETH-Zürich, Institute of Integrative Biology, Überlandstrasse 133, PO Box 611, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland. Tel: +41 44 823 5348. Fax: +41 44 823 50 28. E-mail: otto.seppaelae@eawag.ch
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Summary

Manipulation of host phenotype (e.g. behaviour, appearance) is suggested to be a common strategy to enhance transmission in trophically transmitted parasites. However, in many systems, evidence of manipulation comes exclusively from laboratory studies and its occurrence in natural host populations is poorly understood. Here, we examined the potential for host manipulation by Diplostomum eye flukes indirectly by quantifying the physiological effects of parasites on fish. Earlier laboratory studies have shown that Diplostomum infection predisposes fish to predation by birds (definitive hosts of the parasites) by reducing fish vision through cataract formation. However, occurrence of cataracts and the subsequent potential for host manipulation in natural fish populations has remained poorly explored. We studied the occurrence of eye fluke-induced cataracts from 7 common fish species (Gymnocephalus cernuus, Rutilus rutilus, Leuciscus leuciscus, Alburnus alburnus, Osmerus eperlanus, Coregonus lavaretus and Gasterosteus aculeatus) from the Bothnian Bay in the Baltic Sea. We found that the parasite-induced cataracts were common in fish and they also reached high levels which are likely to predispose fish to predation. However, we observed such cataracts only in species with the highest parasite abundances, which suggests that only certain hosts may be strongly affected by the infection.

Keywords

Diplostomumparasite–host interactionsparasite transmissionpredationTrematoda
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 138 , Issue 2 , February 2011 , pp. 209 - 214
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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