<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Seasonal changes of abiotic factors and their influence on parasite occurrence have repeatedly been studied. Most of the studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of water physicochemical parameters on changes in the intensity of infection, prevalence and component community of a number of parasite species. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the link between water quality parameters and spatial niche size of ectoparasites. The distribution of ectoparasite species on perch (<italic>Perca fluviatilis</italic> L.) was studied to establish whether seasonal changes of water quality parameters are associated with ectoparasite spatial niche size. The concentration of phosphates (PO43−), nitrates (NO−3), sulphates (SO42−) and dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water of Lake Sila (Latvia) was measured every month throughout the year and recorded all ectoparasites on perch. Zero-inflated mixed models were used to evaluate which of the water parameters influence the spatial niche size of ectoparasites. Our findings showed that spatial niche size of some ectoparasite species is affected by a set of water quality parameters and that this effect is negative. The spatial niche size of <italic>Anodonta cygnea</italic> was negatively associated with phosphate, nitrate, sulphate and dissolved oxygen concentration. The spatial niche size of <italic>Ancyrocephalus percae</italic> was negatively associated with sulphate, and the spatial niche size of <italic>Ergasilus sieboldi</italic> was negatively associated with nitrate concentration.</abstract>

Seasonal changes of abiotic factors and their influence on parasite occurrence have repeatedly been studied. Most of the studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of water physicochemical parameters on changes in the intensity of infection, prevalence and component community of a number of parasite species. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the link between water quality parameters and spatial niche size of ectoparasites. The distribution of ectoparasite species on perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) was studied to establish whether seasonal changes of water quality parameters are associated with ectoparasite spatial niche size. The concentration of phosphates (PO43−), nitrates (NO−3), sulphates (SO42−) and dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water of Lake Sila (Latvia) was measured every month throughout the year and recorded all ectoparasites on perch. Zero-inflated mixed models were used to evaluate which of the water parameters influence the spatial niche size of ectoparasites. Our findings showed that spatial niche size of some ectoparasite species is affected by a set of water quality parameters and that this effect is negative. The spatial niche size of Anodonta cygnea was negatively associated with phosphate, nitrate, sulphate and dissolved oxygen concentration. The spatial niche size of Ancyrocephalus percae was negatively associated with sulphate, and the spatial niche size of Ergasilus sieboldi was negatively associated with nitrate concentration.

The Spatial Distribution of Perch (<italic>Perca fluviatilis</italic>) Ectoparasites and the Effect of Chemical Water Quality Parameters on Ectoparasite Spatial Niche Size

Institute of Life Sciences and Technology

Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology

Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B. Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The Spatial Distribution of Perch () Ectoparasites and the Effect of Chemical Water Quality Parameters on Ectoparasite Spatial Niche Size

Seasonal changes of abiotic factors and their influence on parasite occurrence have repeatedly been studied. Most of the studies have been conducted to...

The Spatial Distribution of Perch (Perca fluviatilis) Ectoparasites and the Effect of Chemical Water Quality Parameters on Ectoparasite Spatial Niche Size

Publié en ligne: 22 août 2018

Pages: 236 - 243

Reçu: 24 nov. 2017

Accepté: 16 janv. 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/prolas-2018-0034

Mots clés
perch, ectoparasites, niche size model, boreal lake, water parameters, Latvia

© 2018 Maksims Zolovs et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The Spatial Distribution of Perch (Perca fluviatilis) Ectoparasites and the Effect of Chemical Water Quality Parameters on Ectoparasite Spatial Niche Size

Publié en ligne: 22 août 2018

Pages: 236 - 243

Reçu: 24 nov. 2017

Accepté: 16 janv. 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/prolas-2018-0034

Mots clésperch, ectoparasites, niche size model, boreal lake, water parameters, Latvia

© 2018 Maksims Zolovs et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Mots clés
perch, ectoparasites, niche size model, boreal lake, water parameters, Latvia