Diplostomum flexicaudum: a behavioral investigation of host/parasite interaction.

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if parasite infestation had pronounced effects upon host behavior in ways that would subject the host to predation. The implication of host behavior modification being that increases in exposure to predation might perpetuate the parasite's life cycle. In this study, I evaluated the behavior an intermediate fish host, Notropus hudsonius, with respect to varying degrees of infestation by the parasite Diplostomum flexicaudum. I found that parasite load was signficantly linked to changes in host behavior. I concluded further that parasite load was more responsible for behavioral modification than any vision changes that occured in the host fish because of parasitic infestation of the fishes lens.