Spatial and temporal variations of the ectoparasites of seven reef fish species from Lizard Island and Heron Island, Australia

Grutter, Alexandra S.

doi:10.3354/meps115021

Cited by 141 publications

(136 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Grutter (1994) found a positive correlation between host fish length and gnathiid parasite loads. Rózsa (1997) showed that wingfeather mite abundance correlates with the body mass of their bird hosts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Effect of host weight on the distribution of Argulus foliaceus (L.) (Crustacea, Branchiura) within a fish community

Walker¹,

Harris

Velde³

et al. 2008

Acta Parasitologica

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Spatial heterogeneity is a feature common to many ecosystems. Aquatic organisms typically exhibit this heterogeneous distribution but to date little is known about the distribution of many common parasite species within water bodies. In this study the distribution of Argulus foliaceus (L.), an ectoparasitic crustacean, on different sized hosts within a mixed species fish community was determined. Different fish species exhibited differences in their louse burdens (prevalence and intensity). The highest prevalence of A. foliaceus was observed on fish species dominated by larger individuals (i.e. Cyprinus carpio, Abramis brama and Tinca tinca). C. carpio and A. brama also exhibited the highest mean louse intensities. Infested fish were generally heavier than uninfested conspecifics. Differences in the weight of uninfested and infested fish were significant (P<0.05) for the whole fish community samples and the Scardinius erythrophthalmus, A. brama and C. carpio samples. There was also a general pattern of increasing infestation intensity with an increase in host body weight, with significant correlations for the whole fish community for S. erythrophthalmus, A. brama and C. carpio samples. In addition there were significant differences in parasite prevalence and intensity between different host weight groups and larger (heavier) fish appeared to be more prone to infestation by A. foliaceus.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Effect of host weight on the distribution of Argulus foliaceus (L.) (Crustacea, Branchiura) within a fish community

Walker¹,

Harris

Velde³

et al. 2008

Acta Parasitologica

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“…Because the data from Bshary (2001) suggest that changes in service quality may vary according to a client"s value as a food patch, we recorded client size as a correlate of this value (Bshary 2001, Grutter 1994). …”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cortisol mediates cleaner wrasse switch from cooperation to cheating and tactical deception

Soares

Cardoso

Grutter

et al. 2014

Hormones and Behavior

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Recent empirical research, mostly done on humans, recognizes that individuals" physiological state affects levels of cooperation. An individual"s internal state may affect the payoffs of behavioural alternatives, which in turn could influence the decision to either cooperate or to defect. However, little is known about the physiology underlying condition dependent cooperation. Here, we demonstrate that shifts in cortisol levels affect levels of cooperation in wild cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus. These cleaners cooperate by removing ectoparasites from visiting "client" reef fishes but prefer to eat client mucus, which constitutes cheating. We exogenously administrated one of three different compounds to adults: a) cortisol, b) glucocorticoid receptor antagonist mifepristone RU486 or c) sham (saline); and observed their cleaning behaviour during the following 45 min. The effects of cortisol match an earlier observational study that first described the existence of "cheating" cleaners: such cleaners provide small clients with more tactile stimulation with their pectoral and pelvic fins, a behaviour that attracts larger clients that are then bitten to obtain mucus. Blocking glucocorticoid receptors led to more tactile stimulation to large clients. As energy demands and associated cortisol concentration level shifts affect cleaner wrasse behavioural patterns, cortisol potentially offers a general mechanism for condition dependent cooperation in vertebrates.

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“…A close correlation between host size and parasite richness has been previously demonstrated in rabbitfish (e.g., Grutter 1994;Martens and Moens 1995). This relationship is particularly relevant as far as the heteroxenous species are concerned (Digeneans, Acanthocephala and many species of nematodes) since they accumulate but cannot proliferate on the host.…”

Section: Parasitological Parameter Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 58%

The use of fish metabolic, pathological and parasitological indices in pollution monitoring

Diamant

Banet

Paperna

et al. 1999

Helgoland Marine Research

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The complex interactions between parasites, hosts and the environment are influenced by the stability of the ecosystem. Heteroxenous parasites, with complex, multiple-host life cycles, can persist only in habitats where the full range of their required hosts are present. Conversely, in impoverished environments such as those impacted by environmental stress, monoxenous species that have simple, single-host life cycles are likely to predominate. In the present study, we analyzed the ratio between heteroxenous and monoxenous (H/M) parasites as well as parasite species richness (S H /S M ) and species diversity in rabbitfish (Siganus rivulatus) collected from several sites in the Red Sea. The rabbitfish is a Suez Canal immigrant, well established in the eastern Mediterranean, and fish were also collected from a site on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Separate treatment of the micro-and macroparasite components of the rabbitfish parasite communities in the Red Sea suggested that macroparasites only -monogenea and gut parasites -were better indicators than the parasite community as a whole. Quantification of macroparasites is accurate, saves time and effort, produces more accurate data and better differentiates between sites. Higher H/M ratios and S H /S M ratios were found in the rabbitfish collected at the ecologically stable habitat of the coral reef compared to rabbitfish from sandy habitat or mariculture-impacted sandy habitat. The results of the study emphasized the negative impacts of cage mariculture on the environment. The rabbitfish collected near the mariculture farms supported the poorest and least diverse parasite communities of all sampled sites, with virtual depletion of heteroxenous species, and even reduction of gill monogenean infections on the hosts. When results from the Mediterranean sites were compared with those of the Red Sea, the data showed full representation of monoxenous parasites (all but one of Red Sea origin), while heteroxenous species were completely absent. We may therefore regard the Mediterranean as a simulation model for a severely environmentally deteriorated, impoverished habitat, in which all or part of the intermediate host species have been depleted, enabling survival of the monoxenous parasite species only. Parasitological investigations were supplemented by testing the activity of cytochrome P 450-dependent mono-oxygenase EROD as a measure of exposure, and lysosomal stability as a measure of toxic effect in the liver of rabbitfish. The results underline the parasitological findings, showing that fish caught at the impacted sandy beach location in the Red Sea have significantly higher EROD activity and a decreased membrane stability compared with animals from the coral reef. In comparison, EROD activity values in rabbitfish from the Mediterranean Sea were double, while lysosomal membrane stability was half that measured at the most impacted Red Sea location.

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Spatial and temporal variations of the ectoparasites of seven reef fish species from Lizard Island and Heron Island, Australia

Cited by 141 publications

References 17 publications

Effect of host weight on the distribution of Argulus foliaceus (L.) (Crustacea, Branchiura) within a fish community

Effect of host weight on the distribution of Argulus foliaceus (L.) (Crustacea, Branchiura) within a fish community

Cortisol mediates cleaner wrasse switch from cooperation to cheating and tactical deception

The use of fish metabolic, pathological and parasitological indices in pollution monitoring

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