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Potential for parasite-induced biases in aquatic invertebrate population studies

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Abstract

Recent studies highlight the need to include estimates of detection/capture probability in population studies. This need is particularly important in studies where detection and/or capture probability is influenced by parasite-induced behavioral alterations. We assessed potential biases associated with sampling a population of the amphipod Gammarus lacustris in the presence of Polymorphus spp. acanthocephalan parasites shown to increase positive phototaxis in their amphipod hosts. We trapped G. lacustris at two water depths (benthic and surface) and compared number of captures and number of parasitized individuals at each depth. While we captured the greatest number of G. lacustris individuals in benthic traps, parasitized individuals were captured most often in surface traps. These results reflect the phototaxic movement of infected individuals from benthic locations to sunlit surface waters. We then explored the influence of varying infection rates on a simulated population held at a constant level of abundance. Simulations resulted in increasingly biased abundance estimates as infection rates increased. Our results highlight the need to consider parasite-induced biases when quantifying detection and/or capture probability in studies of aquatic invertebrate populations.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by a Frank Cassel Research Award from the North Dakota State University Department of Biological Sciences to JDLF. Authors are greatly indebted to Philip Smith, Rachel Tooker, and Stephen Lane for providing valuable field assistance as well as aiding in laboratory processing of our samples. Authors would like to thank Sujan Henkanaththegedara, Shawn Goodchild, Mark Wiltermuth as well as Stuart Halse and two anonymous reviewers for comments on a previous draft of this manuscript. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental and Conservation Sciences Graduate Program, Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Dept. 2715, 218 Stevens Hall, P.O. Box 6050, Fargo, ND, 58108-6050, USA

    Justin D. L. Fisher & Craig A. Stockwell

  2. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 8711 37th Street SE, Jamestown, ND, 58104, USA

    David M. Mushet

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  1. Justin D. L. Fisher
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  3. Craig A. Stockwell
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Correspondence to Craig A. Stockwell.

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Handling editor: Stuart Anthony Halse

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Fisher, J.D.L., Mushet, D.M. & Stockwell, C.A. Potential for parasite-induced biases in aquatic invertebrate population studies. Hydrobiologia 722, 199–204 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1700-9

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