COS 266-1 - The Effect of Temperature, Host, and Parasite Traits on Parasite-Induced Mortality in Fisheries: A Meta-Analysis

Thursday, August 10, 2023

10:00 AM – 10:15 AM PDT

Location: D137

Presenting Author(s)

MT

Megan Tomamichel

1Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia; Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, United States

Coauthor(s)

KL

Kaitlyn Lowe

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, University of Georgia, United States
KA

Kaylee Arnold

Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia; Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, United States
MF

Marc Frischer

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, University of Georgia, United States
BI

Brian Irwin

U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, D. B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, United States
CO

Craig W. Osenberg

Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia, United States
RH

Richard Hall

Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia; Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia; Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, United States
JB

James Byers

Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia; Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, United States

Abstract: A growing body of research has explored how increasing temperatures will affect aquatic host-parasite interactions, especially in economically important fisheries. However, to date, we lack a computational analysis of how warming will affect parasite-induced mortality across diverse host and parasite taxa and their ecological traits. We conducted a meta-analysis of 60 empirical studies that manipulated temperature and quantified mortality of both infected and uninfected hosts from harvested aquatic species. The goals for our study were to 1) establish if the odds of infected host mortality were likely to increase with temperature, and 2) detect if there are any host, parasite, or study characteristics that influence the relationship between temperature and infected host mortality. Overall, we found that infected hosts experienced significantly higher mortality than their uninfected counterparts. We also identified a small, but positive overall effect of temperature, with rising temperatures increasing the risk of infected host mortality. However, several host and parasite factors influenced the magnitude and direction of the temperature-mortality relationship. Host taxonomic order is an important factor, with Salmoniformes and Cypriniformes experiencing a greater increase in mortality with temperature than the average host, and Siluriformes experienced a reduction in mortality with temperature compared to the average. Additionally, invertebrate hosts were more sensitive to parasite-induced mortality as temperature increased than vertebrate hosts. Contrary to our expectations, mortality caused by bacterial pathogens had a negative relationship with temperature in our dataset. Our results suggest that while rising temperatures are likely to increase the risk of parasite-induced mortality in many harvested species, the magnitude and direction of this relationship varies substantially with both host and parasite traits.