Parasite Presence,Prevalence, and

Intensity of Eurasian Perch at two

different locations in Lake Constance
By Lisa Breithut, Emily Fischbach, and Elizabeth Ostrowski

What exactly is a parasite?

A parasite is an organism that lives off a host.
o It is a non-mutual relationship
o Parasite benefits at the expense of the host.
Parasites usually stay in one host their entire life
o Some have intermediate hosts as a means to get to
their definitive host
They are generally trophically lower than their hosts,
and are also almost always smaller in size.

What we worked with

What are Macroparasites?
o large enough to be seen with the naked eye
Triaenophorus nodulosus : Pike tapeworm
Ancyrocephalus paradoxus : Gill monogenea
Perca fluviatilis: Eurasian Perch

T.nodulosus

infected pike

eggs excreted

infected perch

copepods

coracidia
hatch

T.nodulosus Background

Plerocercoid larvae infects P.fluviatilis liver

Becomes encapsulated by host-tissue response

Burrowing of the plerocercoid has been known to cause

pathological symptoms such as inflammation, atrophy,
necrosis, and more
Perch with 3 or more T.nodulosus larvae showed more
pathological alterations than perch with no T.nodulosus
or with 1-3 T.nodulosus larvae
o

Brinker and Hamers 2007

A.paradoxus

adult monogenea

oncomiracidium

A.paradoxus Background

A.paradoxus is a monogenean

monogeneans are parasitic flatworms that are

categorized as 'ectoparasites'

they have a simple lifecycle with only one host

there is not much information available on A.paradoxus

Why Examine These Parasites?

We wanted to examine young fish on both sides of the lake to see the
spread of A.paradoxus, as well as prevalence and intensity

It has only been observed at a has only been

observed at few sites in Lake Constance
(Langenargen, Konstanzer Trichter, Egg

Is A.paradoxus present at Seefelden?

If so, what is the prevalence and intensity

of A.paradoxus on these fish?
How is it different from the prevalence and intensity of fish infected with
A.paradoxus at the site by the limnological institute?

Why Examine These Parasites

(cot'd)

We also wanted to see whether the intensity and

prevalence of T.nodulosus between the two sites
differed

To look for an overall difference in parasitized fish and if

it affected their condition

The Locations
Limnological lnstitute

Seefelden

Locations (cot'd)

Seefelden

Egg

Our Hypothesis
There will be a difference in the parasite prevalence and
infection intensity and community between the 0+ perch at
the Limnological Institute-Egg and Seefelden.
There will a higher prevalence and intensity of A.paradoxus
in older (1+) perch compared to the young (0+) perch at the
Limnological Institute-Egg.

Materials

Drop nets (0+ year)

Gill nets (1+ year)
Ruler
Measuring Devices
o
o

Mettler PJ600 for larger fishes

Mettler AE 240 for small fishes

Dissecting Microscope
Tools (tweezers, scissors, ect)
Petri dishes

Methods

Caught 100 young (0+ year) fish

at each site

Caught 50 large (1+ year) fish at

Egg

Temperature and conductivity

recorded at each site

Fish were euthanized using

TCMP (trichlor-methyl-propanol)

Stored individually in approx. 5ml

of 0,64% NaCl

Methods (cot'd)
Total length
Wet weight
Gill/isthmus dissection
o monogenean count
Liver dissection
o cyst and worm count

Hard at Work

Results- Infection of A.paradoxus

Results- Infection of T.nodulosus

cyst

worm

Results-Definitions
Prevalence:
Abundance:
Intensity:

Results: Temperature and Conductivity

Location

Egg

Seefelde
n

Date

06.08.201
2

08.08.201
2

Time

11:00

18:00

Temperat
ure

19.4 C

23.7C

Seefelden
283 S
297 S
--> larger shallow water zone --> higher temperature
--> River inflow --> higher nutrient content

Conducti
vity

Results- Condition factor

Condition factor

Student's t-test

Young perch from Seefelden have a higher condition factor compared to young
perch in Egg

More nutrients in Seefelden lead to higher abundance of zooplankton

o more food for the perch

Results A. paradoxus

Fisher exact test

Mann-Whitney U test

More young perch from Seefelden are infected than from Egg
Young perch from Seefelden are more intensely infected compared to youngs
from Egg
Older perch are more intensely infected compared to young ones
A.paradoxus might have more generations due to higher temperature and
higher fish density
o

(Gerasev&Starovoitov 1990)

Results T. nodulosus

Fisher exact test

Mann-Whitney U test

More older fish are infected compared to young fish from Egg
Older fish are more intensely infected than young fish
Young perch are infected for the first time: feed on copepods
Older fish are infected for a second time: still feed on copepods
o additional infections occur

Conclusions
Condition Factor
i. Young perch from Seefelden have higher condition factors compared to
Egg
A. paradoxus
ii. More young perch from Seefelden are infected
iii. Young perch from Seefelden are more intensely infected compared to
youngs from Egg
iv. Older perch are more intensely infected compared to young ones
T. nodulosus
v. More older perch from Egg are infected than young perch
vi. Older perch are more intensely infected compared to young
vii. Young perch are not differently infected between the two sites

Conditions Affecting our Research

If we were to redo this experiment:

Larger Sample Size

Broader span of sampling (comparing months/seasons)
Time to run more statistical tests
Catch adults from Seefelden
Take Temperature/Conductivity on a regular basis at
both sites at same time

Future Directions
Examine Perch at different sites to test for A. Paradoxus
Examine different age classes to see if there is a key
point for infections
Behavior studies on fish to determine transfer
Study migration patterns of perch to account for spread
Seasonal differences

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Danke!

References
Brinkers, A., Hamers R. 2007. Evidence for negative impact of plerocercoid
infection of Triaenophorous nodulosus on Perca fluviatilis L.stock in
Upper Lake Constance, a water body undergoing rapid reoligotrophication.
Journal of Fish Biology (71) 129-147.
Gerasev, P.I., Starovoitov, V.K.. 1991. The number of generations in
freshwater monogeneans per year. Journal of Fish Biology (38) 159163