Infection dynamics of Diplostomum spathaceum cercariae and parasite-induced mortality of fish hosts

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Abstract
The present study deals with the infection dynamics of Diplostomum spathaceum and with the direct parasite-associated mortality of its experimental fish host, guppies (Lebistes reticulatis) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). The relationship between exposure density and cercarial penetration of the hosts is essentially linear. There is a significant decrease in the proportion of penetrating cercariae that establish themselves in the fish lens at a high exposure density. The host death rate increases exponentially with parasite burden in both guppies and brook trout.