Date: 26.11.2016

Impact of fisheries and aquaculture on aquatic parasite abundance

dailyparasite: Born-Torrijos et al. (2016)

In collaboration with the University of Valencia, Ana Born-Torrijos and Astrid Holzer from the Fish Protistology Laboratory investigated the prevalence and intensity of infection with the parasitic trematode Cardiocephaloides longicollis in the Western Mediterranean. Over several years thousands of samples from all hosts (snails, fish and birds) were screened for infection and data were analysed in relation to the local fishing activity at different sites. Fishing generally drives declines in parasite abundance, however, our study suggests a strongly enhanced transmission of generalist parasites such as C. longicollis, an effect that is further amplified by the parasite's efficient host-finding mechanisms and its alteration of fish host behaviour by larvae encysted in the brain. We demonstrate that the anthropogenic impact on the distribution of trophically-transmitted, highly prevalent parasites cannot be underestimated and likely results in a strong effect on food web structure, in marine habitats.

Interested? Find out more on Ana's research (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ana_Born-Torrijos) and that of the Fish Protistology Lab (http://www.paru.cas.cz/en/sections/organismal-and-evolutionary-parasitology/laboratory-of-fish-protistology/)

The paper Born-Torrijos et al. (2016) caught public attention, read more:

http://dailyparasite.blogspot.cz/2016/11/cardiocephaloides-longicollis.html

Born-Torrijos, A., Poulin, R., Pérez-del-Olmo, A., Culurgioni, J., Raga, J. A., & Holzer, A. S. (2016). An optimised multi-host trematode life cycle: fishery discards enhance trophic parasite transmission to scavenging birds. International Journal for Parasitology 46: 745-753.

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