Abstract
A central issue in fish production is the influence of parasitic infections on fish health in fish farms and on survival prospects after fish-stocking into the wild. Is it preferable to produce fish in infection-free conditions or to allow some infection to elicit resistance in fish? We explored the infection of totally naïve and previously infected rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by the trematode parasite Diplostomum spathaceum in laboratory conditions. We found that up to 86.1% of the presented cercariae became established in the lenses of naïve fish, which indicated that these fish were highly susceptible to infection and that innate resistance served little or no protection against the parasite. However, acquired resistance after initial infection decreased parasite establishment by 85.0–89.1%. Parasite establishment was also affected by fish host density as fewer parasites were found in fish in higher densities. The implications of these results for the fish-farming industry and fish-stocking protocols are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahvonen A, Ikonen E (1993) The effects of stocking time, area and site and smolt size on the results of Finnish sea trout tagging experiments. (ICES report CM 1993/M:33, anadromous and catadromous fish committee)
Bauer ON (1961) Parasitology of fishes. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh
Betterton C (1974) Studies on the host specificity of the eyefluke, Diplostomum spathaceum, in brown trout and rainbow trout. Parasitology 69:11–29
Bortz BM, Kenny GE, Pauley GB, Garcia-Ortigoza E, Anderson DP (1984) The immune response in immunized and naturally infected rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) to Diplostomum spathaceum as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Dev Comp Immunol 8:813–822
Brassard P, Rau ME, Curtis MA (1982) Infection dynamics of Diplostomum spathaceum cercariae and parasite-induced mortality of fish host. Parasitology 85:489–493
Buchmann K, Uldal A (1994) Effects of eyefluke infections on the growth of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in a mariculture system. Bull Eur Assoc Fish Pathol 14:104–107
Chappell LH, Hardie LJ, Secombes CJ (1994) Diplostomiasis: the disease and host–parasite interactions. In: Pike AW, Lewis JW (eds) Parasitic diseases of fish. Samara, Dyfed, pp 59–86
Crowden AE, Broom DM (1980) Effects of the eyefluke, Diplostomum spathaceum, on the behaviour of dace (Leuciscus leuciscus). Anim Behav 28:287–294
Field JS, Irwin SWB (1994) The epidemiology, treatment and control of diplostomiasis on a fish farm in Northern Ireland. In: Pike AW, Lewis JW (eds) Parasitic diseases of fish. Samara, Dyfed, pp 87–100
Hakalahti T, Valtonen ET (2003) Population structure and recruitment of the ectoparasite Argulus coregoni Thorell (Crustacea: Branchiura) on a fish farm. Parasitology 127:79–85
Höglund J, Thuvander A (1990) Indications of non-specific protective mechanisms in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss with diplostomosis. Dis Aquat Org 8:91–97
Karvonen A, Paukku S, Valtonen ET, Hudson PJ (2003) Transmission, infectivity and survival of Diplostomum spathaceum cercariae. Parasitology 127:217–224
Karvonen A, Hudson PJ, Seppälä O, Valtonen ET (2004a) Transmission dynamics of a trematode parasite: exposure, acquired resistance and parasite aggregation. Parasitol Res 92:183–188
Karvonen A, Kirsi S, Hudson PJ, Valtonen ET (2004b) Patterns of cercarial production from Diplostomum spathaceum: terminal investment or bet hedging? Parasitology 129:87–92
Karvonen A, Seppälä O, Valtonen ET (2004c) Parasite resistance and avoidance behaviour in preventing eye fluke infections in fish. Parasitology 129:159–164
Karvonen A, Seppälä O, Valtonen ET (2004d). Eye fluke-induced cataract formation in fish: quantitative analysis using an ophthalmological microscope. Parasitology 129:473–478
Manning MJ (1994) Immunology. A comparative approach. Wiley, Chichester
Mo TA (1994) Status of Gyrodactylus salaris problems and research in Norway. In: Pike AW, Lewis JW (eds) Parasitic diseases of fish. Samara, Dyfed, pp 43–56
Owen SF, Barber I, Hart PJB (1993) Low level infection by eye fluke, Diplostomum spp, affects the vision of three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus. J Fish Biol 42:803–806
Rintamäki-Kinnunen P, Valtonen ET (1996) Gyrodactylus salaris at fish farms in northern Finland over a period of ten years. Int J Parasitol 26:723–732
Rintamäki-Kinnunen P, Valtonen ET (1997) Epizootiology of protozoans in farmed salmonids at northern latitudes. Int J Parasitol 27:89–99
Roth M, Richards RH, Sommerville C (1993) Current practises in the chemotherapeutic control of sea lice infestations in aquaculture: a review. J Fish Dis 16:1–26
Seppälä O, Karvonen A, Valtonen ET (2004) Parasite-induced change in host behaviour and susceptibility to predation in an eye fluke—fish interaction. Anim Behav 68:257–263
Shariff M, Richards RH, Sommerville C (1980) The histopathology of acute and chronic infections of rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri Richardson with eye flukes, Diplostomum spp. J Fish Dis 3:455–465
Speed P, Pauley GB (1985) Feasibility of protecting rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson, by immunizing against the eye fluke, Diplostomum spathaceum. J Fish Biol 26:739–744
Stables JN, Chappell LH (1986a) The epidemiology of diplostomiasis in farmed rainbow trout from north-east Scotland. Parasitology 92:699–710
Stables JN, Chappell LH (1986b) Putative immune response of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, to Diplostomum spathaceum infections. J Fish Biol 29:115–122
Sweeting RA (1974) Investigations into natural and experimental infections of freshwater fish by the common eye-fluke Diplostomum spathaceum Rud. Parasitology 69:291–300
Valtonen ET, Gibson DI (1997) Aspects of the biology of diplostomid metacercarial (Digenea) populations occurring in fishes in different localities in northern Finland. Ann Zool Fenn 34:47–59
Valtonen ET, Holmes JC, Koskivaara M (1997) Eutrophication, pollution and fragmentation: effects on parasite communities of roach (Rutilus rutilus) and perch (Perca fluviatilis) in four lakes in central Finland. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 54:572–585
Wakelin D (1996) Immunity to parasites. How parasitic infections are controlled. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Whyte SK, Allan JC, Secombes CJ, Chappell LH (1987) Cercariae and diplostomules of Diplostomum spathaceum (Digenea) elicit an immune response in rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson. J Fish Biol 31:185–190
Whyte SK, Chappell LH, Secombes CJ (1989) Cytotoxic reactions of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson, macrophages for larvae of the eye fluke Diplostomum spathaceum (Digenea). J Fish Biol 35:333–345
Whyte SK, Chappell LH, Secombes CJ (1990) Protection of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Richardson), against Diplostomum spathaceum (Digenea): the role of specific antibody and activated macrophages. J Fish Dis 13:281–291
Whyte SK, Secombes CJ, Chappell LH (1991) Studies on the infectivity of Diplostomum spathaceum in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). J Helminthol 65:169–178
Zar JH (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edn. Prentice Hall, New Jersey
Acknowledgements
We thank Yrjö Lankinen for the fish material and thank Katja Pulkkinen and Peter Hudson for discussions. Roger Jones gave valuable comments and kindly checked the English. The study was financed by the Biological Interactions Graduate School, the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the SUNARE project of the Academy of Finland. The experiments conducted in this study were approved by the Lab-Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Jyväskylä and comply with the laws of Finland.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Karvonen, A., Paukku, S., Seppälä, O. et al. Resistance against eye flukes: naïve versus previously infected fish. Parasitol Res 95, 55–59 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-004-1246-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-004-1246-x