Repeated exposure affects susceptibility and responses of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) towards the ectoparasitic salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis)

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is repeatedly exposed to and infected with ectoparasitic salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) both in farms and in nature. However, this is not reflected in laboratory experiments where fish typically are infected only once. To investigate if a previous lice infection affects host response to subsequent infections, fish received 4 different experimental treatments; including 2 groups of fish that had previously been infected either with adult or infective salmon lice larvae (copepodids). Thereafter, fish in all treatment groups were infected with either a double or a single dose of copepodids originating from the same cohort. Fish were sampled when lice had developed into the chalimus, the pre-adult and the adult stage, respectively. Both the specific growth rate and cortisol levels (i.e. a proxy for stress) of the fish differed between treatments. Lice success (i.e. ability to infect and survive on the host) was higher in naïve than in previously infected fish (pre-adult stage). The expression of immune and wound healing transcripts in the skin also differed between treatments, and most noticeable was a higher upregulation early in the infection in the group previously infected with copepodids. However, later in the infection, the least upregulation was observed in this group, suggesting that previous exposure to salmon lice affects the response of Atlantic salmon towards subsequent lice infections.

In sea trout, the physiological response to salmon louse is stronger in female than in males

The aims of this study were to compare male and female sea trout (Salmo trutta) with respect to their hypo-osmoregulatory ability over a simulated migration to seawater and their clinical and physiological response to salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) infection in seawater and over a simulated pre-mature return to freshwater. For this purpose, 2-year-old hatchery-reared male and female brown trout (F1 offspring of wild caught anadromous fish) were infected with salmon lice and measured for changes in plasma ions, glucose, lactate and osmolality and relative heart, liver and gonad sizes during a simulated seawater migration and thereafter a premature return to freshwater after 4 weeks in seawater (pre-adult louse). Un-infected trout served as control. Male trout used longer time to develop full hypo-osmoregulatory ability in seawater and showed a stronger response in plasma glucose and lactate following simulated premature return to freshwater, compared to female trout. Response to salmon louse was stronger in female trout, shown by stronger osmotic stress by chalimus (plasma Cl^-) and pre-adult louse (plasma osmolality) and elevated relative liver size (hepatosomatic index) by pre-adult louse in female compared to male trout. Moreover, high plasma cortisol in infected female and low plasma cortisol in infected male trout produced a significant treatment-sex interaction on plasma cortisol. Lice infection intensity was initially higher in male (0.18 lice g^-1) compared to female trout (0.11 lice g^-1) at the chalimus stage, but equal between sexes at the pre-adult stage (male 0.15 and female 0.17 lice g^-1). This study showed that female trout were better adapted for changes in water salinity, while male trout were more robust against salmon louse infection. These results suggests that the elevated salmon louse infection pressure generated by salmon farming have strong and unexplored negative effects on wild sea trout populations. Further research on this topic is vital for the conservation of wild sea trout populations.

The effect of different intensities of the ectoparasitic salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

The effect of different intensities of the ectoparasitic salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) on stress, growth and the expression of immune and wound healing transcripts in the skin of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) was investigated. Lice infection success and survival were similar at the chalimus and preadult stage in the low and high dose group, but infection success and survival were significantly lower in the high than in the low dose group at the adult stage. The expression of investigated transcripts was not correlated to lice intensities, but several of them were significantly differently expressed locally in the skin at the site of lice attachment in infected fish compared to controls. This included an up-regulation of pro-inflammatory markers at the site of lice attachment (e.g., interleukin 1-beta, interleukin 8 and the acute phase protein serum amyloid A), a reduction of markers of adaptive immunity (cluster of differentiation 8-alpha and immunoglobulin M) and decreased expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 10.

Temperature affects settlement success of ectoparasitic salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) and impacts the immune and stress response of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

In this study, the effect of temperature on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) stress and immune response to the ectoparasitic salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) was investigated. We found that infestation affected the expression of several immune and wound healing transcripts in the skin especially at the site of lice attachment compared to un-infested control fish. Moreover, expression patterns in the skin of infested fish suggest that host immune responses towards salmon lice are impaired at low temperatures. However, reduced lice infestation success and survival at the lowest investigated temperatures suggest that cold water temperatures are more detrimental to the lice than their fish hosts. Finally, temperature affected the stress response of the fish and infected fish had a higher increase in cortisol levels in response to handling (a stressor) than un-infested controls.

Invest more and die faster: The life history of a parasite on intensive farms

Organisms are expected to respond to alterations in their survival by evolutionary changes in their life history traits. As agriculture and aquaculture have become increasingly intensive in the past decades, there has been growing interest in their evolutionary effects on the life histories of agri‐ and aquacultural pests, parasites, and pathogens. In this study, we used salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) to explore how modern farming might have affected life history evolution in parasites. We infected salmon hosts with lice from either farmed or unfarmed locations, and monitored life history traits of those parasites in laboratory conditions. Our results show that compared to salmon lice from areas unaffected by salmon farming, those from farmed areas produced more eggs in their first clutch, and less eggs later on; they achieved higher infestation intensities in early adulthood, but suffered higher adult mortality. These results suggest that salmon lice on farms may have been selected for increased investment in early reproduction, at the expense of later fecundity and survival. This call for further empirical studies of the extent to which farming practices may alter the virulence of agricultural parasites.

Parasite fecundity decreases with increasing parasite load in the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis infecting Atlantic salmon Salmo salar

Aggregation is common amongst parasites, where a small number of hosts carry a large proportion of parasites. This could result in density-dependent effects on parasite fitness. In a laboratory study, we explored whether parasite load affected parasite fecundity and survival, using ectoparasitic salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis Krøyer, 1837) infecting Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) hosts. We found a significant reduction in fecundity with higher parasite load, but no significant effect on survival. Together with previous findings, this suggests that stronger competition amongst female lice under high parasite load is a more likely explanation than increased host immune response.

Atlantic salmon infected with salmon lice are more susceptible to new lice infections

Aggregation is commonly observed for macroparasites, but its adaptive value remains unclear. Heavy infestations intensities may lead to a decrease in some fitness-related traits of parasites (e.g. parasite fecundity or survival). However, to a dioecious parasite, increased aggregation could also increase the chance of finding individuals of the opposite sex. In a laboratory experiment, we tested if previous experience with salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) affected susceptibility of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) to later exposure to the same parasite species. We found that currently infected fish got higher intensities of new lice than naive fish. This suggests that hosts already carrying parasites are more susceptible to new lice infections. For this dioecious parasite, such positive density dependence might be adaptive, ensuring successful reproduction under conditions of low lice densities by increasing the probability of both sexes infecting the same host.