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Didymosphenia geminata, a stalk-producing diatom has increased in frequency worldwide. The nuisance stalks that D. geminata forms, may create an environment preferable to oligochaetes such as Tubifex tubifex. Previous studies have shown that oligochaetes abundance is higher in areas with higher percent cover of D. geminata. This research investigated the mechanisms by which nuisance blooms by the stalk-forming diatom D. geminata facilitate a host, Tubifex tubifex, of the parasite, Myxobolus cerebralis, that causes whirling disease in ecologically and economically important salmonid fishes. To test the hypotheses that D. geminata may be providing T. tubifex a refuge from predation by the stone fly Hesperoperla pacifica, I performed an experiment testing whether a mimic of D. geminata mats provides T. tubifex a refuge from predation by the stonefly Hesperoperla pacifica. The results revealed that predation was 100% lower in D. geminata mimic treatments. Implications of this research may help in the management of salmonid populations at risk for whirling disease by avoiding stocking in streams with D. geminata mats.
Knowledge graph centered on Direct and indirect effects of nuisance blooms by with 17 nodes and 56 connections. Top connected: Bacteria, Salvelinus fontinalis, brook trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Didymosphenia geminata.
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