Project: Investigating Competition Among Lineages of Tubifex tubifex and the Potential for Biological Control of Whirling Disease in Natural Streams

Primary Investigator: Dana Winkleman
Project Summary: Dr. Paul Ewald argued in his plenary address to the 2005 Whirling Disease Symposium that successful control of the Myxobolus cerebralis parasite would likely involve manipulating host resistance. Several lines of evidence indicate that the oligochaete host (Tubifex tubifex) may be manipulated to reduce the prevalence of the parasite and such manipulation could be a powerful management tool in controlling M. cerebralis. First, recent studies have indicated that at least one lineage (lineage V) of T. tubifex is resistant to the parasite and reduces TAM production. Second, laboratory research has shown that lineage V T. tubifex out-competed infected lineage III worms. Finally, the proportion of lineage V worms seems to be increasing in areas of Colorado and data indicate this increase is associated with a decrease in TAM production. If these results can be replicated and T. tubifex lineage composition manipulated in field settings, then managers would have a new management option to control and reduce the prevalence of M. cerebralis. This researcher team will perform laboratory competition experiments to substantiate the competitive relationships of lineage III and lineage V T. tubifex and to evaluate the effectiveness of introducing lineage V T. tubifex in a field experiment into a stream where only lineage III has thus far been detected.
Funding Period: 2005-2006
Final Report: 2005-2006 final report not yet available
Dataset(s) associated with this project:

There are no datasets associated with this project.