References

Parasites of Fish as Indicators of Environmental Stress

During the 1994/1995 EMAP-Estauries program in the Carolinian Province we
investigated the feasibility of using parasites of fish as response indicators. Parasites of fish
are an indigenous component of healthy ecosystems. Within the EMAP-E design, the suite of
environmental parameters which may affect parasite abundance, richness, prevalence, and
diversity can be divided into three categories: 1) the physical and chemical characteristics of
the water and sediment (including contaminants) external to the fish; 2) the internal
environment defined by the physical condition (physiological) of individual fish; and 3) the
presence and relative abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates, many of which serve as
intermediate hosts. The biotic response of parasites to environmental stressors is also
reflected in the health of fish. Parasite assemblages of silver perch Bairdiella chrysura respond
to both natural and anthropogenic stressors. Our results showed that particular
environmental stressors and specific parasites that respond include: temperature and
monogeneans; contaminants and nematodes; low dissolved oxygen and protists; and salinity,
together with a mixture of metal and organic contaminants and crustacea. Parasites of fish
are useful biomarkers and appear to be more sensitive to environmental stressors than are
the fish themselves. Parasite responses to selected environmental stressors may be used to
discriminate polluted and unpolluted sites. The use of parasites of fish as biomarkers has
relevant application to fisheries management and coastal monitoring programs.
Landsberg, J., Blakesley, B., Reese, R. et al. Environ Monit Assess (1998) 51: 211. Retrieved
from https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005991420265

Effects of parasites on fish behaviour: a review and evolutionary perspective

Fish serve as hosts to a range of parasites that are taxonomically diverse and
that exhibit a wide variety of life cycle strategies. Whereas many of these parasites are passed
directly between ultimate hosts, others need to navigate through a series of intermediate
hosts before reaching a host in (or on) which they can attain sexual maturity. The realisation
that parasites need not have evolved to minimise their impact on hosts to be successful, and
in many cases may even have a requirement for their hosts to be eaten by specific predators
to ensure transmission, has renewed interest in the evolutionary basis of infection-associated
host behaviour. Fishes have proved popular models for the experimental examination of such
hypotheses, and parasitic infections have been demonstrated to have consequences for
almost every aspect of fish behaviour. Despite a scarcity of knowledge regarding the
mechanistic basis of such behaviour changes in most cases, and an even lower understanding
of their ecological consequences, there can be little doubt that infection-associated behaviour
changes have the potential to impact severely on the ecology of infected fishes. Changes in
foraging efficiency, time budget, habitat selection, competitive ability, predator-prey
relationships, swimming performance and sexual behaviour and mate choice have all been
associated with – and in some cases been shown to be a result of – parasite infections, and
are reviewed here in some detail. Since the behavioural consequences of infections are
exposed to evolutionary selection pressures in the same way as are other phenotypic traits,
few behavioural changes will be evolutionarily neutral and host behaviour changes that
facilitate transmission should be expected. Despite this expectation, we have found little
conclusive evidence for the Parasite Increased Trophic Transmission (PITT) hypothesis in
fishes, though recent studies suggest it is likely to be an important mechanism. Additionally,
since the fitness consequences of the many behavioural changes described have rarely been
quantified, their evolutionary and ecological significance is effectively unknown.

Potential hosts may also change their behaviour in the presence of infective parasite stages, if
they adopt tactics to reduce exposure risk. Such `behavioural resistance', which may take the
form of habitat avoidance, prey selectivity or avoidance of infected individuals, can be viewed
as behavioural change associated with the threat of being parasitised, and so is included here.
Actually harbouring infections may also stimulate fishes to perform certain types of simple or
complex behaviours aimed at removing parasites, such as substrate scraping or the visitation
of cleaning stations, although the efficacy of the latter as a parasite removal strategy is
currently subject to a good deal of debate.

The effects parasites have on shoaling behaviour of host fish have attracted a good deal of
attention from researchers, and we have provided a case study to summarise the current
state of knowledge. Parasites have been shown to affect most of the antipredator effects of
shoaling (such as vigilance, co-ordinated evasion and predator confusion) and can also impair
an individual's foraging ability. It therefore seems unsurprising that, in a number of species
avoidance of parasitised individuals has evolved which may explain the occurrence of
parasite-assorted shoals in the field. Parasitised fish are found more often in peripheral shoal
positions and show a reduced tendency for shoaling in some fish species. Given the array of
host behaviours that may be changed, the fitness consequences of shoal membership for
parasitised hosts and their parasites are not always easy to predict, yet an understanding of
these is important before we can make predictions regarding the ecological impact of
infections on host fish populations.

Clearly, there remain many gaps in our knowledge regarding the effects of parasites on the
behaviour of host fish. We believe that a much greater understanding of the importance of
infection-associated behaviour changes in fish could be gained from high quality research in
comparatively few areas. We have completed our review by highlighting the key research
topics that we believe should attract new research in this field.

Barber, I., Hoare, D. & Krause, J. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (2000) 10: 131.
Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016658224470

The effects of parasites on fish populations—theoretical aspects

This brief review has indicated how essential aspects of relevant epidemiological
considerations may be included into models of fisheries. The main conclusions to emerge from
the crude models outlined above are that the ability of a pathogen to establish itself is
dependent upon the relative magnitudes of the threshold host density for parasite
establishment, HT, and the level of the host population density at its current level of
exploitation H(E). If HT is less than H(E), the parasite will always be able to establish itself.
Disease prevalence would also seem to be roughly independent of the level of exploitation of
the fishery, providing exploited population density is significantly higher than the threshold
density for disease establishment.

The complications introduced by the presence of disease will in general further increase the
levels of uncertainty that fisheries managers have to contend with (Beddington, 1984). In cases
where pathogens are having a serious impact on the fishery it would seem sensible to develop
methods to quantify the impact of the parasite on the host (Lester, 1984). The simple models
discussed here can, moreover, readily be extended to include other factors which can be
important in determining management strategies for fisheries where parasites and disease are
an important consideration. Three particularly important such considerations are: inclusion of
age-structure and more realistic density-dependent recruitment functions in the host
population (May, 1980); consideration of the immune response of the host to the parasite
(Anderson & May, 1979); and inclusion of environmental stockasticity (May, Beddington,
Horwood & Shepherd 1978; Ludwig & Walters, 1981).

Dobson, A.P., May, M. International Journal for Parasitology (1987) 17:2, pp. 363-370. Retrieved
from https://doi.org/10.1016/0020-7519(87)90111-1
 A Comparative Study of the Common Protozoan Parasites of Clarias
gariepinus from the Wild and Cultured Environments in Benue State, Nigeria
A total of one hundred and twenty Clarias gariepinus comprising 30 dead and 30 live
fishes were examined for protozoan parasites infestation, sixty each from the wild and a pond
(cultured environment) over a period of six months. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis was the most
common protozoan parasites found in C. gariepinus from the wild (River Benue) and cultured
(pond) environments. These protozoan parasites constitute 37.08% of the total parasites
encountered for fishes in the pond and 42.51% of fishes in the wild. Among the body parts of
the sampled fishes from the pond, the gills had the highest parasite load (38.86%). Also, the
gills had the highest parasite load (40.54%) among the body parts of the fishes sampled from
the wild. Fishes not infested with any protozoan parasites from the pond constituted 36.70% of
the total fish sampled. On the other hand, fishes not infested with any protozoan parasites
from the wild constituted 31.65% of the total fish sampled. Female fishes had more protozoan
parasites than the male fishes. Bigger fishes of total length (25–48 cm) had more parasite load
than the smaller ones (19–24 cm). Also, fishes between 150–750 g had more parasite load than
the smaller ones of less than 150 g. Protozoan parasite load of fish from the cultured
environment (pond) did not differ significantly (𝑃 < 0 . 0 5) from those from River Benue (wild).

Omeji, S., Solomon, S.G., & Idoga, E.S. Journal of Parasitology Research (2011) 2011: 916489, p.
8. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/916489

Problems caused by isopod parasites in commercial fishes

Crustaceans are found in every type of aquatic ecosystem, and there are species
adapted to extremes of temperature, pressure, salinity, and even anoxia. Parasitic isopods are
typically marine and usually inhabit the warmer seas. They are blood-feeding; several species
settle in the buccal cavity of fish, others live in the gill chamber or on the body surface including
the fins. Isopods can cause morbidity and mortality in captive fish populations. The damage of
gill filaments thus was not only due to the feeding but also by the pressure exerted by the
dorsal side of the parasite. Erosion of gill lamellae, damage of gill rakers and pale gills were the
severe gross lesions observed as a consequence of isopod infestation. Infested fish exhibited
histopathological anomalies such as tissue reactions, primarily associated with the formation of
granulomas consisted of macrophages and epithelioid cells, which are occasionally surrounded
by a thin rim of fibroblasts. A marked increase in the size of the parasite is associated with the
development of marsupium full of juvenile parasite. The infestation usually pressure atrophy
often accompanies the presence of larger parasites. They may lead to economic losses in
commercial species of fish. Thus, treating fishes infected with isopods without treating their
environment may only provide temporary relief. It is also important to recognize the potential
for secondary infections associated with severe isopod infections.

Rameshkumar, G., & Ravichandran, S. J Parasit Dis (2014) 38:1, pp. 138-141. Retrieved from
10.1007/s12639-012-0210-4

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