Assessment of aquatic environmental quality using gyrodactylus sp. as a living probe: parasitic biomonitoring of ecosystem health

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 University of Kalyani

2 Sreegopal Banerjee College, Bagati, Mogra, Hooghly- 712148, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Biological indicators are species that can be employed to monitor environmental quality and ecosystem health. Different groups of organisms such as plants, animals, bacteria and parasites regularly produce certain molecular signal in response to changes in their environmental milieu. Parasites are important tools for providing wealth of information on physicochemical quality, environmental stressors, trophic interactions, population structure, biodiversity, etc. Given that environmental degradation impacts occurrence frequency and intensity of fish parasites, they may serve as sensitive living probes to monitor environmental factors and ecological status of the water body. Population dynamics of parasites of fresh water fish have been studied involving several host species infected by monogenetic parasite, Gyrodactylus sp. The parasitological parameters such as prevalence, mean intensity, mean abundance of parasite were used for such aquatic biomonitoring purpose. There appeared to be distinct variation on parasitization and relationship between host and prevalence of infection. The present study indicates significant interaction between water quality variables and parasitism. Temperature seems to be the most important abiotic parameter that affected parasitic prevalence and load of infection. Under the pH range and dissolved oxygen level as encountered in the polluted sites, fish became stressed and vulnerable to be affected with parasitic infection. The present study presents a comprehensible view on how Gyrodactylus sp. can be championed as a sensitive and meaningful model for aquatic environmental study and an effective management tool for aquatic biomonitoring. 

Keywords

References

  1. Lafferty KD, Allesina S, Arim M, Briggs CJ, De Leo G, Dobson AP, et al. Parasites in food webs: the ultimate missing links. Ecol. Let.2008; 11: 533-546.
  2. Coutant CC. What is normative for fish pathogens? A perspective on the controversy over interactions between wild and cultured fish. J Aquat Anim. Health Bethesda 1998; 10:101-106.
  3. Galli P, Crosa G, Mariniello L, Ortis M, D’Amelio S. Water quality as a determinant of the composition of fish parasite communities. Hydrobiologia 2001; 452:173–179.
  4. Palm HW, Kleinertz S, Ruckert S. Parasite diversity as an indicator of environmental change? An example from tropical grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) mariculture in Indonesia. Parasitology 2011; 138(13): 1793-1803.
  5. MacKenzie KH, Williams H, Williams B., McVicar A H, Siddall R. Parasites as indicators of water quality and the potential use of helminth transmission in marine pollution studies. Adv Parasitol 1995; 35:85-144.
  6. MacKenzie K. Parasites as pollution indicators in marine ecosystems: a proposed early warning system. Mar Poll Bull 1995; 38: 955-959.
  7. Nachev LM. Bioindication capacity of fish parasites for the assessment of water quality in the Danube River. Ph.D. Dissertation, Universität Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) ; 2010.
  8. Khan RA, Thulin J. Influence of pollution on parasites of aquatic animals. Adv Parasitol 1991; 30:201–239.
  9. Vidal-Mart´ınez VM, Pech D, Sures B, Purucker ST, Poulin R. Can parasites really reveal environmental impact? Trends Parasitol 2010; 26:44–51.
  10. Sures B. Accumulation of heavy metals by intestinal helminths in fish: an overview and perspective. Parasitology 2003; 126 (Suppl.):S53-S60.
  11. Sures B. Effects of pollution on parasites, and use of parasites in pollution monitoring. In: Rohe K, editor. Marine Parasitology. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, 2005; 421-425pp.
  12. Sures B. How parasitism and pollution affect the physiological homeostasis of aquatic hosts. J Helminthol 2006; 80:151-157.
  13. Sures B. Environmental Parasitology. Interactions between parasites and pollutants in the aquatic environment. Parasite 2008; 15:434-438.
  14. Hudson PJ, Dobson AP, Lafferty KD. Is a healthy ecosystem one that is rich in parasites? Trends Ecol Evol 2006; 21:381–385.
  15. Valtonen ET, Holmes JC, Koskivaara M. Eutrophication, pollution, and fragmentation: effects on parasite communities in roach and perch in four lakes in central Finland. Parasitologia 1997; 39(3): 233-236.
  16. Marcogliese, D.J. Parasites: small players with crucial roles in the ecological theatre. EcoHealth 2004; 1, 151–164.
  17. Poulin R. Toxic pollution and parasitism in freshwater fish. Parasitol. Today 1992; 8: 58-61.
  18. Buchmann K, Uldal A. Gyrodactylus derjavini infection in four salmonids: comparative host susceptibility and site selection of parasites. Dis Aquat Organ 1997; 28: 201–209.
  19. Buchmann K, and Bresciani J. Microenvironment of Gyrodactylus derjavini on rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss: association between mucous cell density in skin and site selection. Parasitol Res 1998; 84(1):17–24.
  20. Boyoumy EM, Osman HAM, Laya F, Bana EI, Hassanain MA. Monogenean parasites as bioindicators for heavy metals status in some Egyption Red Sea fishes. Glob Vet 2008; 2 (3):117 – 122.
  21. Bakke TA, Cable J, Harris PD. The biology of gyrodactylid monogeneans: the “Russian Dollkillers”. Adv Parasitol 2007; 64: 161-376.
  22. APHA (American Public Health Association), American Water Works Association, Water Pollution Control Federation. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 22nd ed. American Public Health Association, New York, NY ; 2012.
  23. Blazek R, Jarkovsky J, Koubkova B, Gelnar M. Seasonal variation in parasite occurrence and microhabitat distribution of monogenean parasites of gudgeon Gobio gobio. Helminthologia 2008; 45: 185-191.
  24. Jansen P A, Bakke TA. Temperature-dependent reproduction and survival of Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957 (Platyhelminthes:Monogenea) on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Parasitology 1991; 102: 105 – 112.
  25. Andersen PS, Buchmann K. Temperaturedependent population growth of Gyrodactylus derjavini on rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. J Helminthol 1998; 72: 9-14.
  26. Santhosh B, Singh NP. Guidelines for water quality management for fish culture in Tripura, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Tripura Centre, Publication no. 29; 2007.
  27. Ekubo AT, Abowei, JFN. Aspects of aquatic pollution in Nigeria. Res J Environ Earth Sci 2011; 3(6): 673-693.
  28. Lafferty KD. Environmental Parasitology: What can parasites tell us about human impacts on the environment? Parasitol. Today 1997;13(7): 251-255.
  29. Lafferty KD. Ecosystem consequences of fishparasites. J Fish Biol 2008; 73:2083–2093
  30. Lafferty KD, Allesina S, Arim M, Briggs CJ, DeLeo G, Dobson AP, et al. Parasites in food webs: the ultimate missing links. Ecol Lett 2008; 11: 533-546.
  31. Marcogliese DJ. Parasites of the superorganism: Are they indicators of ecosystem health? Internat J Parasitol 2005; 35:705–716.
  32. Klinger RE, Francis-Floyd R. Introduction to Freshwater Fish Parasites, CIR, 716: Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida ; 2002.
Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research
Volume 4, Issue 4
November 2016
Pages 219-226

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics