Brain-encysting parasites affect visually-mediated behaviours of fathead minnows

Abstract

Many populations of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas Rafinesque) in northern Alberta, Canada, contain individuals with hundreds of trematode (Ornithodiplostomum ptychocheilus Faust) cysts on the surface of their brains. Most cysts are located on the optic tecta, a region known to play a role in integrating visual and motor stimuli, especially in schooling fish. We determined the effect of infection on visually-mediated behaviours of fathead minnows by evaluating host performance in an optomotor swimming task. Monitoring this task involved recording the time minnows spent following a spinning drum, onto which alternating black and white stripes had been painted. After controlling for host activity and host size, minnows containing an average of 18 (low-intensity) or 98 larvae (high-intensity) reduced their time spent following the spinning drum by 42% and 26%, respectively, compared to uninfected controls. Low-intensity minnows also took longer than controls to respond to a change in the direction of the spinning drum. Reduced optomotor performance has the potential to affect a host’s ability to detect and respond to prey, predators and conspecifics.