Anthropogenic Effects of Reservoir Construction on the Parasite Fauna of Aquatic Wildlife

Abstract

The creation of large freshwater reservoirs is one of the most dramatic anthropogenic impacts on the natural environment. With worldwide rising demand for water, the construction of more reservoirs is inevitable. Although the effects of reservoir construction on many medically important parasites are well known and appreciated, changes to aquatic wildlife host-parasite interactions have been largely undervalued even though a large body of literature exists. The present review examines changes in the wildlife parasite fauna during the impoundment of reservoirs, focusing on the parasites of invertebrates, fish, and birds, the effects both upstream and downstream of the reservoir, parasitic zoonoses, the associated pollution generated, and assesses the impact of the recently completed Three Gorges Dam in China on the Yangtze River's parasite fauna.

<b>Host-parasite interaction between crustaceans of six fish species from the Brazilian Amazon

“…Wild fish usually coexist in equilibrium with parasites within the environment, but this balance in the parasite-host-environment interactions, when broken by environmental changes, may negatively affect hosts and, consequently, increase their susceptibility to infections by parasitic crustaceans (Carvalho et al, 2003;Fontana et al, 2012;Guidelli et al, 2009;Morley, 2007). Changes in environmental quality have a relevant role in the parasitic infestations of ectoparasites crustaceans.…”

“…In Brazil, 136 species of crustaceans are listed for parasitizing freshwater fish, most of which are Copepoda (about 60%), followed by Isopoda (about 20%) and Banchiura (about 20%) (Luque, Vieira, Takemoto, Pavanelli, & Eiras, 2013). Some crustacean species are host and site-specific, whereas other parasites frequently have no preference (Hoshino, Hoshino, & Tavares-Dias, 2014;Tavares-Dias, Dias-Júnior, Florentino, Silva, & Cunha, 2015) due to the evolution in the host-parasite relationship (Morley, 2007). Several species have a wide distribution pattern at different localities, whereas others develop Acta Scientiarum.…”

“…Besides the lack of information on the parasite species that occur in these fish species, the variables that influence the parasite assemblage structure are also unknown. Therefore, information on the variables affecting the assemblage structure is important for in-depth knowledge of the host-parasite interaction (Fontana et al, 2012;Guidelli et al, 2009;Morley, 2007;Tavares-Dias, Oliveira, Gonçalves, & Silva, 2014).…”

Parasite infracommunities of Leporinus friderici: A comparison of three tributaries of the Jurumirim Reservoir in southeastern Brazil

“…Unfortunately, with increasing worldwide demand for water and electricity, dam construction is inevitable and results in simplified natural landscapes, homogenizing the regional distinctiveness of natural disturbance dynamics (Rahel 2002, Olden et al 2004, Morley 2007, Rahel 2010. This anthropogenic activity can be considered the more extensive alteration in riverine ecosystems (Nilsson et al 2005).…”

Buildingwithwildlife: project geographies and cosmopolitics in infrastructure construction

“…Indeed, the act of developing an EIA is never politically neutral, and can yield actions which fully acknowledge negative environmental effects of infrastructure development. Recent examples of this range from the high-profile third-order effects of the Three Gorges Dam project on the Yangtze River, China to the rare Yangtze River dolphin (Tullos, 2009), to the more prosaic anthropogenic effects of reservoir building on parasite fauna (Morley, 2007). What unites these cases is that the broader societal and environmental benefits of these developments were deemed to outweigh concerns for the wildlife which inhabit them; Nature appears passive to and separate from Society (Latour, 1993;2004a).…”