Resistance of perch eggs to attack by aquatic fungi

Abstract

In the distinctive gelatinous Perca fluviatilis egg mass, limited fungal growth by Aphanomyces and Saprolegnia spp. especially S. diclina, occurred within dead eggs but did not spread to adjacent live eggs. Perch eggs exposed to parasitic challenge by Saprolegnia parasitica, S. dieclina (type III) and S. ferax, under fluctuating temperature regimes replicating spring water temperatures, did not have significantly greater mortality than did unchallenged controls. The observations suggest that perch eggs have some anti‐fungal properties which usually prevent the spread of fungus throughout the egg mass and that under normal spring temperatures there should be negligible ecological consequences of fungal infection in perch egg masses.