Gyrodactylus+salaries

Gyrodactylus salaries Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Plathelminthes

Class: Monogenea

Order: Monopisthocotylea

Family: Gyrodactylidae

Genus: Gyrodactylus

Species: G. salaries

Description
Did you ever wonder why salmon fishes have to be throuoghly cleaned before its edible? The answer lies in Gyrodactylus Salaries, a small parasitic flatworm. It is a small Monogenean ectoparasite that is about 0.5 mm long. They cannot be seen with the naked eye, but it is possible with a hand held lens.

=Food Source =

They mostly infect the gills or the fins of the Atlantic Salmon, but it can also inhibit rainbow trouts, Artic char, and graylings. It attachs to the host by specialized attachement organs (haptor) with sharp hooks which is located at the parasite's tail end.



=Method of Consumption =

When feeding on the parasite, it glues its mouth to the host and the pharynx from the mouth releases a digestive solution called proteolytic enzymes. This solution can dissolve the salmon skin. This feeding activity can lead to ulcers and cuts in the salmon. This Parasite can infect a whole river which can cause an entire epidermis on the Atlantic Salmon. These parasites reporduce asexually or sexually, but the rate of reproduction for this parasite is extremely high. It doesn't have a long stage of developement.



= Enviormental Contact =

Gyrodactylus salaris cannot survive in high salinity of water. They are a cold water species that survive best temperatuer -20 degrees Celcius. Therefore, the migration of the host cannot cause the infection. There are treatments to these kind of parasites. Originally rivers have used pesticide rotenone to treat this parasite, but there are better methods of treatment. Aluminium and sulfuric acid can be used to treat this disease without damaging the host.

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