Mineral nutrition of host-parasite interactions

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Parasitism is a common feature of most, if not all, aquatic environments of Canada. Despite this, parasites and their effects on many aquatic animals, with the exception of fish, remain largely unstudied. Nutrition is likely to be an important component of these interactions between aquatic animals and their parasites. It has been shown that particular mineral elements (nitrogen and phosphorus) play a central role in animal growth and can often be deficient in the food of aquatic animals. In this project, I will examine the role of mineral nutrition on key aspects of animal - parasite interactions. In particular, I will examine how susceptibility to bacterial infection varies with the food quality consumed by a common lake crustacean, Daphnia. In addition, I will relate the reproductive success of the bacterial parasite to the food quality consumed by Daphnia. These effects on host-parasite epidemiology could significantly alter the size of Daphnia populations. I will explore how population cycles of Daphnia vary in the presence and absence of parasitic infection under conditions of different food quality. I will extend this research on animal parasitism to the lakes of south central Ontario. In these lakes, I will examine how patterns of animal parasitism relate to lake geography and water quality. This work will help us understand the basic mechanisms underlying infectious disease of aquatic animals in Canada's lake ecosystems.