The three-spined stickleback-<i>Schistocephalus solidus</i>system: an experimental model for investigating host-parasite interactions in fish

Barber, Iain; Scharsack, Jörn P.

doi:10.1017/s0031182009991466

Cited by 128 publications

(199 citation statements)

References 115 publications

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“…We attempted to use experimental treatments to induce the behavioural phenotype of parasitized sticklebacks in non-infected individuals. The parasite has a three-host life cycle, which includes a copepod, a fish and a bird (Smyth, 1946;Barber and Scharsack, 2010). Sticklebacks ingest the first intermediate host (a cyclopoid copepod) and act as the second intermediate hosts of the parasite, which grows to a large size in the body cavity of the fish.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the behaviour of threespine stickleback parasitized with Schistocephalus solidus be replicated by manipulating host physiology?

Hébert

Berger

Barber

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Sticklebacks infected by the parasitic flatworm Schistocephalus solidus show dramatic changes in phenotype, including a loss of species-typical behavioural responses to predators. The timing of host behaviour change coincides with the development of infectivity of the parasite to the final host (a piscivorous bird), making it an ideal model for studying the mechanisms of infection-induced behavioural modification. However, whether the loss of host anti-predator behaviour results from direct manipulation by the parasite, or is a by-product (e.g. host immune response) or side effect of infection (e.g. energetic loss), remains controversial. To understand the physiological mechanisms that generate these behavioural changes, we quantified the behavioural profiles of experimentally infected fish and attempted to replicate these in non-parasitized fish by exposing them to treatments including immunity activation and fasting, or by pharmacologically inhibiting the stress axis. All fish were screened for the following behaviours: activity, water depth preference, sociability, phototaxis, anti-predator response and latency to feed. We were able to change individual behaviours with certain treatments. Our results suggest that the impact of S. solidus on the stickleback might be of a multifactorial nature. The behaviour changes observed in infected fish might result from the combined effects of modifying the serotonergic axis, lack of energy and activation of the immune system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the behaviour of threespine stickleback parasitized with Schistocephalus solidus be replicated by manipulating host physiology?

Hébert

Berger

Barber

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…The three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus L. and its diphyllobothriidean cestode parasite Schistocephalus solidus M. are a well-studied example of PITT (LoBue and Bell 1993;Heins and Baker 2008;Barber and Scharsack 2010;Heins et al 2010a). S. solidus enters sticklebacks when fish ingest an infected cyclopoid copepod (e.g., Cyclops columbianus, Acanthops brevispinous), which is the first intermediate host in the parasite's three-host life cycle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Reimchen and Douglas 1984;Nowak et al 2004;Denton et al 2010). Sticklebacks and S. solidus have become a model system for understanding the ways in which a parasite can affect its host (Heins and Baker 2008), and many studies have compared the behavior of sticklebacks with and without parasites in controlled, laboratory environments (Giles 1983(Giles , 1987Milinski 1985;Barber and Huntingford 1995;Ness and Foster 1999;Barber et al 2004Barber et al , 2008Barber and Scharsack 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diel vertical movements, and effects of infection by the cestode Schistocephalus solidus on daytime proximity of three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus to the surface of a large Alaskan lake

et al. 2011

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We conducted a field study in Iliamna Lake, Alaska, to test the hypothesis that proximity of three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus to the lake's surface during the daytime varies with macroparasitic cestode parasite Schistocephalus solidus infection in a manner consistent with enhanced vulnerability to avian predators. Extensive sampling in the lake and likelihood-based modeling revealed that sticklebacks displayed a diel vertical migration, being closer to the surface at night than during the evening and early morning. Additional sampling, also coupled with a likelihood-based modeling approach, showed that fish caught at the surface of the lake during the day were more often parasitized (76 vs. 65%), more heavily parasitized (26.8 vs. 22.7% of their body mass), and had larger individual parasites (0.24 vs. 0.20 g) than those caught at night. Parasite infection was related, non-linearly, to fish size, which also differed between day and night sampling at the surface. We performed statistical competitions among nested hierarchies of models that accounted for this effect of length. The most likely models indicated that fish captured during the day had greater parasite prevalence, higher parasite burdens, and larger parasites than did fish captured at night. Proximity to the surface during the day in this very clear lake would likely increase the vulnerability of sticklebacks to predation from birds, enabling completion of the parasite's lifecycle.

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“…When parasitized with fully developed (infective) worms, sticklebacks swim for longer periods of time close to the water surface, and are bolder under predation risk. They also shoal less, and, under simulated bird attack, flee less (Barber and Scharsack 2010). Is this altered host behaviour due to parasitic manipulation or simply a side effect of the increased energetic need and oxygen demand of heavily infected sticklebacks?…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Is this altered host behaviour due to parasitic manipulation or simply a side effect of the increased energetic need and oxygen demand of heavily infected sticklebacks? This is still an open question that has been discussed for several decades (reviewed in Barber and Scharsack 2010). Talarico et al (2017), published in this issue of Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, suggests that the S. solidus-stickleback interactions involve parasitic manipulation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Behave in your parasite’s interest

Bakker

Traniello

2017

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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The three-spined stickleback-Schistocephalus solidussystem: an experimental model for investigating host-parasite interactions in fish

Cited by 128 publications

References 115 publications

Can the behaviour of threespine stickleback parasitized with Schistocephalus solidus be replicated by manipulating host physiology?

Can the behaviour of threespine stickleback parasitized with Schistocephalus solidus be replicated by manipulating host physiology?

Diel vertical movements, and effects of infection by the cestode Schistocephalus solidus on daytime proximity of three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus to the surface of a large Alaskan lake

Behave in your parasite’s interest

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