Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host
In theory there should be a strong coupling between host and parasite population sizes. Here, we investigated population size and structure in 3 species of acanthocephalans, Corynosoma semerme , C. strumosum and C. magdaleni , in ringed seals ( Phoca hispida ) from the Bothnian Bay over a period of...
Published in: | Parasitology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2004
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031182004005839 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0031182004005839 |
id |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0031182004005839 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0031182004005839 2024-03-03T08:47:56+00:00 Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host VALTONEN, E. T. HELLE, E. POULIN, R. 2004 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031182004005839 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0031182004005839 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Parasitology volume 129, issue 5, page 635-642 ISSN 0031-1820 1469-8161 Infectious Diseases Animal Science and Zoology Parasitology journal-article 2004 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182004005839 2024-02-08T08:42:30Z In theory there should be a strong coupling between host and parasite population sizes. Here, we investigated population size and structure in 3 species of acanthocephalans, Corynosoma semerme , C. strumosum and C. magdaleni , in ringed seals ( Phoca hispida ) from the Bothnian Bay over a period of more than 20 years. During this period, seal numbers first decreased markedly and then increased steadily; at the same time, a paratenic fish host particularly important for C. strumosum has gradually disappeared from the bay due to decreasing salinity. We found no evidence that the mean abundance of any of the 3 acanthocephalan species changed significantly over time, nor was there any relationship between parasite abundance at any point in time and seal numbers in the corresponding year. Based on the proportion of sexually mature female worms per infrapopulation, and on relationships between the sex ratio of worms and infrapopulation size, both C. magdaleni and C. semerme appear to be doing well, independently of the population size of their seal definitive hosts. In contrast, perhaps because of the loss of its main paratenic host, C. strumosum appears more at risk in the Bothnian Bay. Our results show that in complex natural systems, there are not necessarily simple, direct links between definitive host population size or density, and parasite population dynamics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Phoca hispida Cambridge University Press Parasitology 129 5 635 642 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Infectious Diseases Animal Science and Zoology Parasitology |
spellingShingle |
Infectious Diseases Animal Science and Zoology Parasitology VALTONEN, E. T. HELLE, E. POULIN, R. Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host |
topic_facet |
Infectious Diseases Animal Science and Zoology Parasitology |
description |
In theory there should be a strong coupling between host and parasite population sizes. Here, we investigated population size and structure in 3 species of acanthocephalans, Corynosoma semerme , C. strumosum and C. magdaleni , in ringed seals ( Phoca hispida ) from the Bothnian Bay over a period of more than 20 years. During this period, seal numbers first decreased markedly and then increased steadily; at the same time, a paratenic fish host particularly important for C. strumosum has gradually disappeared from the bay due to decreasing salinity. We found no evidence that the mean abundance of any of the 3 acanthocephalan species changed significantly over time, nor was there any relationship between parasite abundance at any point in time and seal numbers in the corresponding year. Based on the proportion of sexually mature female worms per infrapopulation, and on relationships between the sex ratio of worms and infrapopulation size, both C. magdaleni and C. semerme appear to be doing well, independently of the population size of their seal definitive hosts. In contrast, perhaps because of the loss of its main paratenic host, C. strumosum appears more at risk in the Bothnian Bay. Our results show that in complex natural systems, there are not necessarily simple, direct links between definitive host population size or density, and parasite population dynamics. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
VALTONEN, E. T. HELLE, E. POULIN, R. |
author_facet |
VALTONEN, E. T. HELLE, E. POULIN, R. |
author_sort |
VALTONEN, E. T. |
title |
Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host |
title_short |
Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host |
title_full |
Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host |
title_fullStr |
Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host |
title_sort |
stability of corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031182004005839 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0031182004005839 |
genre |
Phoca hispida |
genre_facet |
Phoca hispida |
op_source |
Parasitology volume 129, issue 5, page 635-642 ISSN 0031-1820 1469-8161 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182004005839 |
container_title |
Parasitology |
container_volume |
129 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
635 |
op_container_end_page |
642 |
_version_ |
1792504255102320640 |