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The ecological interaction between arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (L.), and the plerocercoid stage of Diphyllobothrium ditremum
Author(s) -
Halvorsen O.,
Andersen K.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1984.tb04878.x
Subject(s) - salvelinus , biology , parasite hosting , zoology , arctic , ecology , population , helminths , infection rate , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , trout , demography , medicine , surgery , sociology , world wide web , computer science
Six hundred and two arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus , from a small lake (30 ha) were examined for infection with plerocercoids of Diphyllobothrium ditremum the only species of this genus present; 466 (77.4%) harboured the parasite in an overdispersed infection. The prevalence of infection increased with age and reached 100% at 7+ years for males and 8+ years for females. The rate of infection appeared to be related to the feeding biology of the charr which did not change within the age span studied. The rate of increase in density of infection (plerocercoids per fish) decreased with age as did the degree of overdispersion. It is concluded that the infection probably induces mortality in the fish population, and that such mortality is dependent on parasite density.