Experimental infection in Notodiaptomus sp. (Crustacea: Calanoida) with larvae of Camallanus sp. (Nematoda: Camallanidae)

Abstract

This trial registered the experimental infection viability with nematode larvae Camallanus sp. in Notodiaptomus sp., a crustacean, which can be an intermediate host. Adult females of nematode were dissected from the intestines of Xiphophorus maculatus (Osteichthyes: Poeciliidae), at a fish farm in the State of São Paulo. Females were slightly compressed for larvae release, collected with Pasteur pipette and separated on Petri dishes with 9ml filtered water at 28.1ºC, from zooplankton culture. Treatments consisted of Petri dishes with 60 and 105 copepods, in which 120, 150 and 210 larvae of nematode were added in four replications. Twenty-four and 36h after exposition to the larvae, the copepods were fixed in 70% alcohol to record the amount of fixed larvae. Twenty four hours after exposition, 60 copepods group with 120 larvae showed significantly higher prevalence (46.5%) when compared to 105 copepods and 120 larvae (33.2%). Thus, these answers suggested that 120 larvae were enough for a successful infectivity. Experimental infection was available and so, it was used as a pattern to life cycle studies of camallanid nematodes and hosts susceptibility tests.