Diel vertical migration: A possible host-finding mechanism in salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) copepodids?

Abstract

The vertical distribution of pelagic nauplii and copepodids of the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis Krøyer was studied in large enclosures in the sea. Copepodids, which infect salmonid hosts, displayed a distinct diel vertical migration pattern. They gathered near the surface during the day, and spread out into deeper layers at night. Nauplii showed only small differences in depth between night and day. Copepodid distribution seems to be controlled by light intensity; no effect of either salinity or temperature was found. This migration pattern, which is the reverse of that of wild salmonids, may increase the number of parasite–host encounters as hosts will swim through populations of sinking (nighttime) and rising (dawn) parasites every 24 h. Because caged salmon feed at the surface during the day, they are likely to be more exposed to infective copepodids than wild fish.