Salmon lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, exhibit specific chemotactic responses to semiochemicals originating from the salmonid, Salmo salar

Devine, Gregor J., Ingvarsdóttir, Anna, Mordue, William, Pike, Alan W., Pickett, John ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8386-3770, Duce, Ian and Mordue, A. Jennifer 2008. Salmon lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, exhibit specific chemotactic responses to semiochemicals originating from the salmonid, Salmo salar. Journal of Chemical Ecology 26 (8) , pp. 1833-1847. 10.1023/A:1005592606682

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Abstract

Adult male salmon lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, displayed kinetic and rheotactic behavioral responses to seawater conditioned with the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. The kinetic response was initiated by a range of skin, mucus, and flesh preparations from salmon and from a nonsalmonid, the turbot Scophthalmus maximus. Kinesis was quantified by digitally recording the movement of individual lice and by measuring both speed and distance traveled. A directional response, measured in Y-tube assays, was seen in the presence of salmon-conditioned water, but not of turbot-conditioned water. Thus, there is strong evidence that chemical signals are used by salmon lice to mediate host-finding behavior. It is hypothesized that, although salmon lice are excited by the presence of fish-derived semiochemicals, there is a salmonid-specific signal that mediates their positive rheotactic response to a host.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Chemistry
Publisher:	Springer
ISSN:	0098-0331
Last Modified:	05 Mar 2026 13:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/185511

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