Here's another species of parasitic copepod, but this one's not going to fish eyes - just feeding off the skin, mucus, and blood of its hosts. Lepeophtheirus salmonis is the salmon louse, which, as the name suggests, infects salmon and marine species of trout. These parasites can cause a great deal of morbidity in their fish hosts and may have severe consequences for both wild and farmed fish populations as very heavy infections of these parasites can kill the hosts. You can read more about these parasites on this site, which is also the source of the image.
July 24, 2010
July 24 - Lepeophtheirus salmonis
Here's another species of parasitic copepod, but this one's not going to fish eyes - just feeding off the skin, mucus, and blood of its hosts. Lepeophtheirus salmonis is the salmon louse, which, as the name suggests, infects salmon and marine species of trout. These parasites can cause a great deal of morbidity in their fish hosts and may have severe consequences for both wild and farmed fish populations as very heavy infections of these parasites can kill the hosts. You can read more about these parasites on this site, which is also the source of the image.
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Very nice! Fish parasites are a hobby of mine so I love seeing this one featured. We see them here (Washington, USA). but they are a big concern in Europe, especially with farmed Atlantic Salmon. They are responsible for adding a lot to the controversy around farmed salmon and its potential effects on wild fish populations.
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