Abstract
The salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis is a major disease problem in salmonids farming and there are indications that it also plays a role in the decline of wild salmon stocks. This study shows the first ultrastructural images of pathological changes in the sensory setae of the first antenna and in inner tissues in different stages of L. salmonis development after sound exposure in laboratory and sea conditions. Given the current ineffectiveness of traditional methods to eradicate this plague, and the strong impact on the environment these treatments often provoke, the described response to sounds and the associated injuries in the lice sensory organs could represent an interesting basis for developing a bioacoustics method to prevent lice infection and to treat affected salmons.
Highlights
Ectoparasitic sea lice represent the most important parasite problem to date for the salmon farming industry
Salmon lice are a major disease problem in the farming of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, and it has been suggested that salmon lice play a role in the decline of wild stocks [1,2]
L. salmonis is exceptional among parasite species in infecting adult wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) with 100% prevalence
Summary
Ectoparasitic sea lice represent the most important parasite problem to date for the salmon farming industry. The salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Figure 1) is a Caligid copepod that infests both wild and farmed salmonid fish in the northern and southern hemispheres. Severe infestations produce pathological lesions on the host that are caused by attachment and feeding of sea lice in both the adult and juvenile stages. L. salmonis is exceptional among parasite species in infecting adult wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) with 100% prevalence. The infective planktonic larva is extraordinarily effective at locating and infecting wild Atlantic salmon. For this reason, L. salmonis has the potential to become a pest disease to salmonid fish [2]
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