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Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

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DAO 105:149-161 (2013)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02616

Sea lice infestations on juvenile chum and pink salmon in the Broughton Archipelago, Canada, from 2003 to 2012

Thitiwan Patanasatienkul1,*, Javier Sanchez1, Erin E. Rees1, Martin Krkošek2,3, Simon R. M. Jones4, Crawford W. Revie

1Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Ave, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island C1A 4P3, Canada
2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada
3Department of Zoology, University of Otago, 340 Great King Street, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
4Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 3190 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo, British Columbia V9T 6N7, Canada

ABSTRACT: Juvenile pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha and chum salmon O. keta were sampled by beach or purse seine to assess levels of sea lice infestation in the Knight Inlet and Broughton Archipelago regions of coastal British Columbia, Canada, during the months of March to July from 2003 to 2012. Beach seine data were analyzed for sea lice infestation that was described in terms of prevalence, abundance, intensity, and intensity per unit length. The median annual prevalence for chum was 30%, ranging from 14% (in 2008 and 2009) to 73% (in 2004), while for pink salmon, the median was 27% and ranged from 10% (in 2011) to 68% (in 2004). Annual abundance varied from 0.2 to 5 sea lice per fish with a median of 0.47 for chum and from 0.1 to 3 lice (median 0.42) for pink salmon. Annual infestation followed broadly similar trends for both chum and pink salmon. However, the abundance and intensity of Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Caligus clemensi, the 2 main sea lice species of interest, were significantly greater on chum than on pink salmon in around half of the years studied. Logistic regression with random effect was used to model prevalence of sea lice infestation for the combined beach and purse seine data. The model suggested inter-annual variation as well as a spatial clustering effect on the prevalence of sea lice infestation in both chum and pink salmon. Fish length had an effect on prevalence, although the nature of this effect differed according to host species.


KEY WORDS: Sea lice · Lepeophtheirus salmonis · Caligus clemensi · Oncorhynchus keta · Oncorhynchus gorbuscha · Broughton Archipelago · Epidemiology


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Cite this article as: Patanasatienkul T, Sanchez J, Rees EE, Krkošek M, Jones SRM, Revie CW (2013) Sea lice infestations on juvenile chum and pink salmon in the Broughton Archipelago, Canada, from 2003 to 2012. Dis Aquat Org 105:149-161. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02616

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