Repatriation of an old fish host as an opportunity for myxozoan parasite diversity: The example of the allis shad, Alosa alosa (Clupeidae), in the Rhine.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Wildlife repatriation represents an opportunity for parasites. Reintroduced hosts are expected to accumulate generalist parasites via spillover from reservoir hosts, whereas colonization with specialist parasites is unlikely. We address the question of how myxozoan parasites, which are characterized by a complex life-cycle alternating between annelids and fish, can invade a reintroduced fish species and determine the impact of a de novo invasion on parasite diversity. We investigated the case of the anadromous allis shad, Alosa alosa (L.), which was reintroduced into the Rhine approximately 70 years after its extinction in this river system.

Methods

We studied parasites belonging to the Myxozoa (Cnidaria) in 196 allis shad from (i) established populations in the F

SUBMITTER: Wunnemann H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5024467 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature