13
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Reproductive potential of Gyrodactylus bullatarudis (Monogenea) on guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

      Parasitology
      Cambridge University Press (CUP)

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisher
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          SUMMARY

          Two simple experiments were undertaken using the viviparous ectoparasite, Gyrodactylus bullatarudis, and laboratory-reared guppies, Poecilia reticulata, whereby detailed records of the number and temporal sequence of all births and the age at death were obtained for flukes on isolated guppies. Gyrodactylus bullatarudis has an average fecundity of 1·68 offspring during its expected life-span of 4·20 days. The instantaneous birth rate is independent of generation but dependent on age. The first offspring is born approximately 1 day after the birth of the parent and subsequent offspring are born at 2–2·5 day intervals. The average instantancous birth rate (under given experimental conditions) is 0.43/parasite/day. The death rate increases exponentially with the age of the fluke and has an average value of 0.24/parasite/day. A simple deterministic model incorporating age structure and an age-dependent death rate was found to provide a good fit to the observed exponential increase in G. bullatarudis numbers. The variability observed in this host–parasite system was found to be largely a function of chance, as shown by Monte Carlo simulations of stochastic birth–death processes.

          Related collections

          Most cited references14

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Processes influencing the distribution of parasite numbers within host populations with special emphasis on parasite-induced host mortalities.

          The paper examines the factors which generate various patterns of dispersion in the distribution of parasites within their host populations. Particular emphasis is placed on the role played by chance elements in the growth and decay of parasite populations and on the influence of different types of demographic processes. It is argued that observed distributions are dynamic, rather than static, entities generated by opposing forces, some acting to create over-dispersion and others acting to generate under-dispersion. Monte Carlo simulation experiments, based on probability models of the growth and decay of host and parasite populations, are used to study the dynamics of parasite dispersion. Attention is specifically focused on the role played by parasite-induced host mortality. It is shown that, for certain types of host-parasite associations, convex curves of mean parasite abundance in relation to age (age-intensity curves), concomitant with a decline in the degree of dispersion in the older age, classes of hosts, may be evidence of the induction in host mortality by parasite infection. Empirical evidence is examined in light of this prediction. In general, however, simulation studies highlight the technical difficulties inherent in establishing clear evidence of parasite-induced host mortality from ecological studies of hosts and parasites in their natural habitats.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: not found
            • Article: not found

            Attachment of Gyrodactylus to Gasterosteus and Host Response

            R. Lester (1972)
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Survival characteristics of the free-living cercarial population of the ectoparasitic digenean Transversotrema patialensis (Soparker, 1924)

              The survival characteristics of free-living cercarial populations of Transversotrema patialensis were described and shown to be age-dependent. The maximum life-span was found to be 44 h with a 50% survival at 26 h. Activity and infectivity of the larvae were also characterized by age-dependence, and were demonstrated to be closely correlated with one another. For individual cercariae, both activity and infectivity had dropped to extremely low levels many hours before death occurred. An attempt was made to interrelate activity and infectivity, in a theoretical manner, with the availability of energy reserves. Conceptual understanding of the biological processes involved was aided by the formulation of simple mathematical models.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Parasitology
                Parasitology
                Cambridge University Press (CUP)
                0031-1820
                1469-8161
                October 1982
                April 06 2009
                October 1982
                : 85
                : 2
                : 217-236
                Article
                10.1017/S0031182000055207
                d88a15b8-8881-41e6-b02b-12af8bb86705
                © 1982

                https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms

                History

                Comments

                Comment on this article