Publication Date:
2011-06-21
Description:
In aquatic ecosystems, fish play a key role in parasite accumulation and transmission to predacious animals. In the present study, realized on seven populations of a small cyprinid fish species, the European bitterling Rhodeus amarus , we investigated (1) the role of the European bitterling as a potential intermediate or paratenic host, (2) the ability of the fish to accumulate parasites with similar final host group, and (3) its significance as a potential source of parasite infection in the ecosystem in respect to habitat characteristics. A total of 36 parasite species were recorded; 31 species (90% of all parasite specimens) were classified as endoparasites. Most of the endoparasites were found in the larval life stage, using bitterling as an intermediate or paratenic host. In particular, parasite community structure showed significantly higher proportions of allogenic parasites in comparison with autogenic. The supposed co-occurrence of parasite species with identical final host groups showed only a weak association. The adjacent reservoir areas were a significant determinant of both the total and infracommunity parasite species richness and for the mean parasite abundance. No relationship between the distance of sampling site from the adjacent reservoir and parasite community characteristics was found. As a small-sized fish with a wide distribution range and high local abundances, the European bitterling can represent a natural prey for a wide range of piscivorous predators. Due to its susceptibility to the number of larval endoparasites, this fish species may therefore fulfill the role as important transmitter of parasites to their final hosts. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-11 DOI 10.1007/s10452-011-9361-0 Authors Martina Dávidová, Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic Radim Blažek, Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic Teodora Trichkova, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Gagarin str. 2, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria Emmanuil Koutrakis, Fisheries Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Foundation, Nea Peramos, 640 07 Kavala, Greece Özcan Gaygusuz, Faculty of Fisheries, Istanbul University, Ordu Cad. No 200, Laleli, 34470 Istanbul, Turkey Ertan Ercan, Faculty of Aquaculture and Fisheries Biology, University of Mugla, 48000 Kötekli, Turkey Markéta Ondračková, Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic Journal Aquatic Ecology Online ISSN 1573-5125 Print ISSN 1386-2588
Print ISSN:
1386-2588
Electronic ISSN:
1573-5125
Topics:
Biology
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