title: A survey of microparasites present in adult migrating Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in south-western British Columbia determined by high-throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: Microparasites play an important role in the demography, ecology and evolution of Pacific salmonids. As salmon stocks continue to decline and the impacts of global climate change on fish populations become apparent, a greater understanding of microparasites in wild salmon populations is warranted. We used high-throughput, quantitative PCR (HT-qRT-PCR) to rapidly screen 82 adult Chinook salmon from five geographically or genetically distinct groups (mostly returning to tributaries of the Fraser River) for 45 microparasite taxa. We detected 20 microparasite species, four of which have not previously been documented in Chinook salmon, and four of which have not been previously detected in any salmonids in the Fraser River. Comparisons of microparasite load to blood plasma variables revealed some positive associations between Flavobacterium psychrophilum, Cryptobia salmositica and Ceratonova shasta and physiological indices suggestive of morbidity. We include a comparison of our findings for each microparasite taxa with previous knowledge of its distribution in British Columbia.
authors.affiliation: Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: A L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0461-2624
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bass
authors.affiliation: Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hinch
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Teffer
authors.affiliation: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Science Branch, Cooperative Resource Management Institute, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.affiliation: Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.|Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D059208:Parasite Load / Q000662:veterinary; D010273:Parasitic Diseases, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000821:virology; D015995:Prevalence; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012474:Salmon; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Salmonid pathogen; molecular epidemiology; quantitative real-time PCR