Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2012 Jun 19;367(1596):1770-9. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0423.
Pink salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, are the most abundant wild salmon species and are thought of as an indicator of ecosystem health. The salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, is endemic to pink salmon habitat but these ectoparasites have been implicated in reducing local pink salmon populations in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia. This allegation arose largely because juvenile pink salmon migrate past commercial open net salmon farms, which are known to incubate the salmon louse. Juvenile pink salmon are thought to be especially sensitive to this ectoparasite because they enter the sea at such a small size (approx. 0.2 g). Here, we describe how 'no effect' thresholds for salmon louse sublethal impacts on juvenile pink salmon were determined using physiological principles. These data were accepted by environmental managers and are being used to minimize the impact of salmon aquaculture on wild pink salmon populations.
粉鲑，红大麻哈鱼属的一种，是最丰富的野生鲑鱼物种，被认为是生态系统健康的指标。鲑虱，Lepeophtheirus salmonis，是粉鲑栖息地特有的寄生虫，但这些外寄生虫已被认为是导致不列颠哥伦比亚省布劳顿群岛当地粉鲑数量减少的原因。这一说法主要是因为幼年粉鲑游过商业开放式网箱鲑鱼养殖场，而鲑虱正是在这些养殖场中孵化的。人们认为幼年粉鲑对这种外寄生虫特别敏感，因为它们在这么小的尺寸（约 0.2 克）时就进入了大海。在这里，我们描述了如何使用生理原理来确定鲑虱对幼年粉鲑亚致死影响的“无影响”阈值。这些数据已被环境管理者接受，并正在被用来最小化鲑鱼养殖对野生粉鲑种群的影响。
