Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T20:18:30.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Infrapopulation dynamics of Gyrdicotylus gallieni (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

J. A. Jackson
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
R. C. Tinsley
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS

Summary

Gyrdicotylus gallieni is a viviparous gyrodactylid monogenean that infects the buccal cavity and pharynx oi Xenopus laevis laevis. Offspring directly recolonize the same host as their parent and transmission is carried out exclusively by adult worms which are capable of leech-like stepping locomotion. The infrapopulation dynamics (at 20 °C) of this species were studied by experimental exposure to single worms of previously uninfected hosts (which were dissected at various time intervals post-infection). Infrapopulations increased exponentially until 50 days post-infection (p.i.), during which time the intrinsic rate of increase was estimated by regression as 0·065/parasite/day. After this, infrapopulation sizes showed greater variability, with established infections becoming extinct 2–5 months p.i.: elimination was probably due to someform of host reaction, as parasite lineages were maintained for up to 10 months by transfers to successive uninfected hosts.The development of infrapopulations is similar to that reported for other viviparous gyrodactylids parasitic on the bodysurface of teleosts. However, the intrinsic rate of increase was comparatively slow in G. gallieni and the duration of infection in isolated hosts prolonged. Slow-growing infrapopulations may elicit a host response more slowly and extend the period during which dispersal to a new host or host population can occur. This might be important in G. gallieni for which the internal site of infection could limit the transmission rate, as worm migration from the oral cavity or accidental detachment and expulsion is necessary for host-host transfer to occur. Exposure of wild caught X. l. laevis of unknown infectionhistory to 1 (n = 33) or 10 (n = 10) worms produced only 2 established infrapopulations (in both cases hosts initially infected by single worms), compared with establishment of over 60% in naive hosts infected with single worms: this suggests that host resistance may be an important factor in the population dynamics of G. gallieni.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bakke, T. A., Jansen, P. A. & Hansen, L. P. (1990). Differences in the host resistance of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., stocks to the monogenean Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957. Journal of Fish Biology 37, 577–87.Google Scholar
Bakke, T. A., Harris, P. D., Jansen, P. A. & Hansen, L. P. (1992). Host specificity and dispersal strategy in gyrodactylid monogeneans, with particualar reference to Gyrodactylus salaris (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea). Diseases fo Aquatic Organisms 13, 6374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cusack, R. (1986). Development of infections of Gyrodactylus colemanensis Mizelle and Kritsky, 1967 (Monogenea) and the effect on fry of Salmo gairdneri Richardson. Journal of Parasitology 72, 663–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gelnar, M. (1987). Experimental verification of the effect of water temperature on micropopulation growth of Gyrodactylus katherineri Malmberg, 1964 (Monogenea) parasitizing carp fry (Cyprinus carpio L.). Folia Parasitologica 34, 1923.Google Scholar
Gelnar, M. (1990). Experimental verification of the water temperature effect on the micropopulation growth of Gyrodactylus rutilensis Gläser, 1974 (Monogenea). Folia Parasitologica 37, 113–14.Google Scholar
Gill, D. E. & Mock, B. A. (1985). Ecological and evolutionary dynamics of parasites: the case of Trypanosoma diemyctyli in the red-spotted newt Notophthalmus viridescens. In Ecology and Genetics of Host–Parasite Interactions (ed. Rollinson, D. & Anderson, R. M.), pp. 157–83. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Harris, P. D. (1982). Studies on the biology of the Gyrodactyloidea (Monogenea). Ph.D. thesis. University of London.Google Scholar
Harris, P. D. (1985). Observations on the development of the male reproductive system in Gyrodactylus gasterostei Gläser, 1974 (Monogenea, Gyrodactylidae). Parasitology 91, 519–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, P. D. (1988). Changes in the site specificity of Gyrodactylus turnbulli Harris, 1986 (Monogenea) during infections of individual guppies (Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859). Canadian Journal of Zoology 66, 2854–7.Google Scholar
Harris, P. D. & Tinsley, R. C. (1987). The biology of Gyrdicotylus gallieni (Gyrodactylidae), an unusual viviparous monogenean from the African clawed toad, Xenopus laevis, Journal of Zoology 212, 325–46.Google Scholar
Jansen, P. A. & Bakke, T. A. (1991). Temperature-dependent reproduction and survival of Gyrodactylus salaris Malberg, 1957 (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea). on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Parasitology 102, 105–12.Google Scholar
Kamiso, H. N. & Olson, R. E. (1986). Host–parasite relationships between Gyrodactyliis stellatus (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) and Parophrys vetulus (Pleuronectidae–English sole) from coastal waters of Oregon. Journal of Parasitology 72, 125–9.Google Scholar
Khalil, L. F. (1964). On the biology of Macrogyrodactylus polypteri Malmberg, 1956, a monogenetic trematode on Polypterus senegalus in the Sudan. Journal of Helminthology 38, 219–22.Google Scholar
Lester, R. J. G. (1972). Attachment of Gyrodactylus to Gasterosteus and host response. Journal of Parasitology 58, 717–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lester, R. J. G. & Adams, J. R. (1974 a). A simple model of a Gyrodactylus population. International Journal for Parasitology 4, 497506.Google Scholar
Lester, R. J. G. & Adams, J. R. (1974 b). Gyrodactylus alexanderi: reproduction, mortality, and effect on its host Gasterosteus aculeatus. Canadian Journal of Zoology 52, 827–33.Google Scholar
Madhavi, R. & Anderson, R. M. (1985). Variability in the susceptibility of the fish host, Poecilia reticulata, to infection with Gyrodactylus bullatarudis (Monogenea). Parasitology 91, 531–44.Google Scholar
Pielou, E. C. (1969). An Introduction to Mathematical Ecology. New York: Wiley Interscience.Google Scholar
Scott, M. E. (1982). Reproductive potential of Gyrodactylus bullatarudis (Monogenea) on guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Parasitology 85, 217–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, M. E. (1985). Dynamics of challenge infections of Gyrodactylus bullatarudis Turnbull (Monogenea) on guppies, Poecilia reticulata Peters. Journal of Fish Diseases 8, 495504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, M. E. & Nokes, D. J. (1984). Temperature dependent reproduction and survival of Gyrodactylus bullatarudis (Monogenea) on guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Parasitology 89, 221–7.Google Scholar
Scott, M. E. & Robinson, M. A. (1984). Challenge infections of Gyrodactylus bullatarudis (Monogenea) on guppies, Poecilia reticulata (Peters), following treatment. Journal of Fish Biology 24, 581–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar