Project: Epidemiology of Whirling Disease: An Integrated Study of the Rock Creek Drainage, Montana

Primary Investigator: Willard Granath
Project Summary: In Rock Creek, western Montana, results of a four-year project indicate that infected T. tubifex are present in much greater numbers and are more widely dispersed in areas with degraded riparian habitat. However, trout become infected at many locations where infected T. tubifex have not been recovered, and it is possible that fish are infected by parasites originating hundreds or thousands of meters upstream. It also appears that the range of whirling disease within the Rock Creek drainage is still expanding, more than four years after its initial detection. Total water flow appears to affect the severity of disease; an apparent dilution effect on TAMs was observed in the upper portion of the drainage. Genetic analysis using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA methods indicated the presence of at least three distinct genotypes of T. tubifex within the Rock Creek drainage; all three are susceptible to infection.
Funding Period: 2001-2002
Final Report: Granath_01-02.pdf
Dataset(s) associated with this project:

Temperature monitoring for seasonal periodicity

Severity of infection in sentinel trout

Monitoring for diurnal periodicity in TAM release

Streamflow measurements in Rock Creek drainage

Habitat assessments at Rock Creek sites

Prevalence of M. cerebralis infection in T. tubifex

Mean water temperature at sentinel cages in Rock Creek

Water temperature at Rock Creek sites

Water quality measurements in the Rock Creek drainage