Using real-time PCR and Bayesian analysis to distinguish susceptible tubificid taxa important in the transmission of Myxobolus cerebralis, the cause of salmonid whirling disease.

Aquatic oligochaetes have long been appreciated for their value in assessing habitat quality because they are ubiquitous sediment-dwelling filter feeders. Many oligochaete taxa are also important in the transmission of fish diseases. Distinguishing resistant and susceptible taxa is important for managing fish disease, yet challenging in practice.

The parasite that causes whirling disease, Myxobolus cerebralis, is genetically variable within and across spatial scales.

Understanding the genetic structure of parasite populations on the natural landscape can reveal important aspects of disease ecology and epidemiology and can indicate parasite dispersal across the landscape. Myxobolus cerebralis (Myxozoa: Myxosporea), the causative agent of whirling disease in the definitive host Tubifex tubifex, is native to Eurasia and has spread to more than 25 states in the USA. The small amounts of data available to date suggest that M.

Correlation of environmental attributes with histopathology of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout naturally infected with Myxobolus cerebralis.

Infection by the invasive parasite Myxobolus cerebralis (causing whirling disease in salmonids) is strongly influenced by a stream's physico-chemical characteristics, which might affect host pathology. We examined whether environmental variables of a M. cerebralis-positive tributary to Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, U.

Variability in triactinomyxon production from Tubifex tubifex populations from the same mitochondrial DNA lineage infected with Myxobolus cerebralis, the causative agent of whirling disease in salmonids.

Myxobolus cerebralis, the causative agent of whirling disease, infects both salmonid fish and an aquatic oligochaete, Tubifex tubifex. Although M. cerebralis has been detected in river drainages throughout the United States, disease severity among wild fish populations has been highly variable.

Predator effects on prey population dynamics in open systems.

Animal population dynamics in open systems are affected not only by agents of mortality and the influence of species interactions on behavior and life histories, but also by dispersal and recruitment. We used an extensive data set to compare natural loss rates of two mayfly species that co-occur in high-elevation streams varying in predation risk, and experience different abiotic conditions during larval development. Our goals were to generate hypotheses relating predation to variation in prey population dynamics and to evaluate alternative mechanisms to explain such variation.

Myxobolus cerebralis infection patterns in Yellowstone cutthroat trout after natural exposure.

Salmonid species and sub-species exhibit a range of susceptibility to Myxobolus cerebralis infection. Little is known about lesion severity and location, or time required for M. cerebralis myxospores to develop in Yellowstone cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri.

Interactions among two strains of Tubifex tubifex (Oligochaeta: Tubificidae) and Myxobolus cerebralis (Myxozoa).

Host-parasite interactions influence host population growth, host evolution and parasite success. We examined the interactions among Myxobolus cerebralis, the parasite that causes salmonid whirling disease, and resistant and susceptible strains of the oligochaete host Tubifex tubifex. Strains of T.