tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094038346173044955.post1541810848524275364..comments2024-03-27T19:39:11.723-04:00Comments on Parasite of the Day: Ligula intestinalisSusan Perkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05944116263349266952noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094038346173044955.post-23148980493229366572016-07-10T21:13:32.604-04:002016-07-10T21:13:32.604-04:00Well the final host for this parasite are birds, s...Well the final host for this parasite are birds, so if the infected minnow is eaten by a trout, it probably spells the end for the tapeworm.Tommy Leunghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06421993204602775597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094038346173044955.post-84788477108601606712016-07-10T14:08:07.280-04:002016-07-10T14:08:07.280-04:00I have recently found this parasite in fresh water...I have recently found this parasite in fresh water minnows ; will it infect the lake trout which in turn eat the minnows ? Is this a problem ? <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094038346173044955.post-65447145619201234682012-08-12T23:10:01.355-04:002012-08-12T23:10:01.355-04:00Go back and read the post again - keep in mind tha...Go back and read the post again - keep in mind that Ligula intestinalis was doing perfectly fine in roach prior to the population crash:<br /><br />"Prior to 1998, the tapeworm was commonly found in roach and only occasionally found in other fish such as bream."<br /><br />Additionally, you point was also addressed here:<br /><br />"So even though it seems as if the sliver bream made the ideal host for L. intestinalis in that reservoir, it took a dramatic event - the collapse of the roach population in 1997 - to bring them together."<br /><br />Hence my comment.Tommy Leunghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06421993204602775597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094038346173044955.post-13201929679039740942012-08-12T21:01:02.356-04:002012-08-12T21:01:02.356-04:00"in bream indicates that some type of mechani..."in bream indicates that some type of mechanism is ensuring that infected copepod end up in bream instead of roach"<br /><br />Not necessarily, it could be that the parasite is just more successful in Bream.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094038346173044955.post-22007226723373352292012-03-14T18:02:34.981-04:002012-03-14T18:02:34.981-04:00Well, apart from call the bream "the main hos...Well, apart from call the bream "the main host of choice" - I never used the word "choose". But the fact that while this tapeworm can infect and develop in a range of fish, yet consistently end up in bream indicates that some type of mechanism is ensuring that infected copepod end up in bream instead of roach.<br /><br />While "generalist" parasites can successfully infect a range of host, not all host can be consider equal from the perspective of the parasite - and some species serve as better host than others even if they are all equally susceptible. Generalist can also evolve to become specialists, and as you suggested, perhaps the process of adapting to the bream host has attenuated this tapeworms ability to exploit the roach.Tommy Leunghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06421993204602775597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094038346173044955.post-75510886067224673102012-03-14T12:42:48.299-04:002012-03-14T12:42:48.299-04:00How does it "choose" a host? If any fish...How does it "choose" a host? If any fish eats an infected copepod, it would seem to me that tapeworm is not getting a second chance. Either it can infect the fish and possibly be evolutionarily successful, or its chances of reproduction are nil.<br /><br />Unless the ability to infect bream impairs the chances of successfully infect roaches? But you said it could infect both.notElonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04857651031212875523noreply@blogger.com