Date of Award
11-24-2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Biology, MS
First Advisor
Paul Sikkel
Committee Members
Maureen Dolan; Tanja McKay
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2015 R34
Abstract
This study built on the recent discovery of Apicomplexan blood parasites in damsel and blennioid fishes in the Caribbean (Cook et al. 2015), by elucidating their geographical distribution, species and life history stages of damselfishes they infect, and developing specific molecular primers to identify them. From 2013-2015, eight damselfish species from three genera were sampled from 11 localities (n = 807), and eight blenny species from two genera (n = 114) were sampled from 7 of these sites. Damselfish parasites appeared only in Stegastes species and at all localities, except Curacao (n = only 6), but were rare in the Florida Keys (1.6% infected). There were significant differences in prevalence of blood parasites among species. Blenny blood parasites occurred at all except Florida Keys sites. Primers were successfully developed to identify blood parasites and Whatman FTA paper was shown to be effective for collection and storage of Apicomplexan blood parasite DNA.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Renoux, Lance Pierre, "Prevalence of Blood Parasites in Damselfishes and Blennies of the Eastern Caribbean and Their Detection using Molecular Techniques" (2015). Student Theses and Dissertations. 689.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/689
