The dynamics of infection of Diphyllobothrium dendriticum (Nitzsch) and D. ditremum (Creplin) in the char Salvelinus alpinus (L.) in Sweden

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Author: Henricson, Jan
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1978
• Subjects: Gavia arctica; Larus canus; Salvelinus alpinus; Copepods
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1978.tb03413.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1095-8649.1978.tb03413.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1978.tb03413.x

A total of 654 char, Salvelinus alpinus (L.), from Lake Bjellojaure, Sweden, were examined for plerocercoids of Diphyllobothrium dendriticum (Nitzsch, 1824) and D. ditremum (Creplin, 1825) from September 1969 to December 1974. Plankton samples showed that the dominating copepod species in the lake were Eudiaptomus graciloides (Lilljeborg), Cyclops scutifer Sars and Heterocope appendiculata Sars. E. graciloides passed the winter as adults and C. scutifer as copepodids while H. appendiculata was restricted to a short period in the summer. Copepods occurred in the stomachs in September‐October and to a certain extent in April‐May, but only cyclopids and Heterocope sp. were found. C. scutifer is proposed to be the main first intermediate host of both D. dendriticum and D. ditremum . The potential final hosts were thecommon gull, Larus canus L., for D. dendriticum and the black‐throated diver, Gavia arctica (L.), for D. ditremum . One common gull was experimentally successfully infected with plerocercoids of D. dendriticum . The parasites showed no seasonal cycle in incidence of infection.