Conley, D.C. & M.A. Curtis. (1993). Effects of temperature and photoperiod on the duration of hatching, swimming, and copepodid survival of the parasitic copepod Salmincola edwardsii. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 71(5):972-976.
Effects of temperature and photoperiod on the duration of hatching, swimming, and copepodid survival of the parasitic copepod Salmincola edwardsii.
Canadian Journal of Zoology
71(5):972-976.
Publication
Available for editors
We conducted laboratory experiments to test whether various temperature and photoperiod regimes had any effect on the duration of egg hatching, swimming activity, and copepodid survival in the parasitic copepod Salmincola edwardsii, commonly found on brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Pairs of egg sacs were removed from adult female copepods; one of each pair was exposed to a different photoperiod than the other, at the same temperature. Experiments were conducted at 8, 12, 16, and 20 °C. Temperature had a significant effect on the duration of copepodid swimming activity and survival, and the onset of egg sac hatching was directly related to increasing water temperature. However, hatching duration and hatching success were not affected by temperature over the range tested. Photoperiod had no effect on hatching duration, hatching success, swimming activity, or copepodid survival. Our findings indicate that S. edwardsii copepodids can swim and survive for more than 2 weeks; much longer than the 2 days customarily reported in the literature. This must be accounted for in the development of strategies to control transmission.
