The notifiable freshwater pathogen Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957 tends to be a generalist in contrast to other monogeneans. Whilst it causes most damage to its primary host, the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar Linnaeus), transport and reservoir hosts likely play a key role in maintaining the parasite in the environment. Here, we tested the ability of G. salaris (strain River Lierelva, southern Norway) to infect and reproduce on a population of wild caught alpine bullhead (Cottus poecilopus Heckel). Exposure of alpine bullhead yearlings (0+) to G. salaris for 24 h at low (6.5 °C) or high temperature (11.5 °C) resulted in the establishment of 1 to 104 parasites per fish. Eight to nine days post-infection at high temperature, the infection of G. salaris was eliminated, indicative of innate host immunity. In contrast, at low temperature G. salaris infections persisted for 47-48 days. The relative lengthy infection of alpine bullhead with G. salaris compared to other non-salmonids tested may be due to low temperature and high initial infection load in combination with an epibiont infection. The present results suggest that this non-salmonid may function as a temperature-dependent transport or reservoir host for G. salaris.
Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957 is a major pathogen of wild Salmo salar L. parr populations in Norway, and its delimitation from non-pathogenic species is important. The present study was undertaken to test the power of chaetotaxy to differentiate between three populations belonging to both the same and different clades (as stated by mtDNA) of G. salaris, in addition to three different species of gyrodactylids (G. salaris, G. thymalli and G. caledoniensis). The gyrodactylids were processed for chaetotaxy in situ and a maximum of 50 specimens per collection site were used to construct a generalised map over the sensilla. The sensilla were found in all populations to be symmetrically distributed around the median longitudinal axis, according to a formula of 7 dorsal (34 sensilla) and 8 ventral (44 sensilla) clusters on each side of the median line. The three Norwegian populations of G. salaris were found identical, as were the population of G. thymalli. The specimens of G. caledoniensis from Scotland, however, were found to differ from the Norwegian species G. salaris and G. thymalli by the position of one sensillum in two of the clusters. A comparison of the sensillum pattern of laboratory maintained G. salaris (River Lierelva) with results obtained ten years earlier, questions the temporal stability of the chaetotaxy pattern. The present results indicate that chaetotaxy can be used to discriminate between certain Gyrodactylus spp. but not generally.
Three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.), ninc-spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius (L.)) and flounder 0Platichthys flesus (L.)) are widespread teleosts, which all have behaviours involving migration between freshwater and brackish/sea water environments. Their importance in dispersal of the freshwater monogenean Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957, which causes heavy losses of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) parr in infected Norwegian rivers, was tested indirectly by their susceptibility and resistance to the parasite in laboratory experiments. Gyrodactylus salaris attached to the three fish species, but no parasite reproduction was observed. The infections were eliminated alter a maximum of 3 days on flounder, 6 days on nine-spined stickleback, and 8 days on three-spined stickleback. Thus these fishes are innately resistant to G. salaris, and are therefore of no importance concerning the population dynamics of G. salaris in freshwater systems. However, attachment of parasites indicates that these fish species may function as transport hosts, and theoretically play a part in the dispersal of G. salaris in nature.
Gyrodactylus thymalli Žitňan, 1960 and G. salaris Malmberg, 1957 have an indistinguishable ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA sequence, but exhibit surprisingly high levels of intra- and interspecific sequence variation of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (CO1) gene. To test whether different populations of these reportedly very similar species could be discriminated using morphometric methods, we examined the morphometry of four different populations representing different mitochondrial clades. Twenty five point-to-point measurements, including five new characters of the attachment hooks, were recorded from three Norwegian laboratory populations (G. salaris from the Rivers Lierelva and Rauma, and G. thymalli from the River Rena), and from one wild population of G. thymalli from the River Test, UK. The Norwegian populations were kept under identical environmental conditions to control for the influence of temperature on the haptoral attachment hooks. Data were subsequently subjected to univariate and linear stepwise discriminant analyses. The model generated by the linear stepwise discriminant analysis used 18 of the 25 original variables, the first two roots accounting for 96.6% of the total variation between specimens. The hamulus shaft length accounts for 66.7% of the overall correct classification efficiency. Based on morphometry, all specimens were assigned to the correct species. Apart from three specimens of G. salaris from the River Lierelva population which were misclassified as belonging to the G. salaris Rauma population, all specimens were assigned to the correct population. Thus, populations of Gyrodactylus identified by mtDNA can also be discriminated using morphometric landmark distances.
The present study is focusing on the transmission of the monogenean ectoparasite Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957, a major pathogen on natural populations of Norwegian Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. In laboratory experiments the transmission rate of G. salaris after direct host to host contact was positively correlated with water temperature (1.2, 4,7 and 12.2°C). The transmission of detached G. salaris in the planktonie drift was studied in field experiments where salmon parr were individually isolated for 24 hours in small wire mesh cages suspended in the water column. Ten out of 157 salmon parr (prevalence 6.4%, mean intensity 1.0) contracted G. salaris infections after this exposure. Furthermore, 200 uninfected marked salmon parr were released into the same area of the river. After 24 and 48 hours, respectively 18 and 19 marked parr were caught by electro-fishing. The prevalence of G. salaris was 44.4% (mean intensity 1.9) after 24 hours, rising to 57.9% (mean intensity 2.3) after 48 hours. Gyrodactylids have no specific transmission stage or swimming ability, but detached G. salaris drifting in the water column were found to infect salmon parr. However, the transmission rate was markedly higher to free-living fish, suggesting that transmission routes such as indirect transmission from the substrate or direct contact transmission from infected live and/or dead fish, are relatively more important than transmission by drifting detached parasites.