Saprolegnia is a fresh water fish parasite responsible for significant economic losses in the aquaculture industry worldwide. The disease caused by this organism is termed saprolegniosis, being characterized by a mycosis-like infection of gills and fish skin. Without sustainable treatments available for controlling or preventing saprolegniosis, it has become a significant problem especially for salmon farming, frequently affecting the fish after vaccination. Little is known regarding how the fish immune system responds to infection and such information is vital for developing future treatments and preventive measures to saprolegniosis. To study the immune response of Atlantic salmon to Saprolegnia, a detailed immune profile of experimentally infected presmolts was performed by analyzing the expression levels of several immunity-related genes. Infected fish exhibit a very strong inflammatory response while the majority of genes associate with the adaptive immunity were found to be down regulated. The mechanisms behind this response were then investigated: It was discovered that the cell wall of Saprolegnia can be recognized by fish immune cells, triggering an inflammatory response. A protease secreted by the parasite that has the ability to degrade fish antibodies was identified and, for the first time in an oomycete, the production of prostaglandin E2 was characterized, a molecule that was later shown to potentiate inflammatory responses while suppressing host adaptive immunity genes. Lastly two metabolic pathways of the oomycete were explored as novel targets for control, prostaglandin and sterol metabolism by the use of cyclooxygenase and CYP51 inhibitors, respectively.

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Foraging theory predicts active responses by organisms upon encounter with a resource, as opposed to the passive responses of differential survivorship and growth. Stems of the parasitic plant Cuscuta subinclusa invest in resource acquisition (coil) relative to host quality in a way predicted by the marginal value theorem (MVT) in that: (1) stem coiling, the necessary antecedent and determinant of resource uptake, precedes exploitation of host materials; and (2) mean coiling on a host species is proportional to: (a) mean growth/haustorium, (b) mean biomass accumulation over the season, and (c) mean parasite growth/host individual. Coiling is correlated with growth/host individual for the 5 native host species examined, but not when a non-native species is added to the model, suggesting coiling response is a result of natural selection. Preliminary evidence indicates that coiling in C. subinclusa is induced by host bark chemicals. Resource-poor stems of C. subinclusa are more likely to coil, and coil more, than resource-rich stems, thus nutritional state of the parasite as well as host value affects foraging responses. Evidence from other experiments suggests that the costs of growth, or "search costs", may affect host acceptability. When water is readily available, transplanted C. subinclusa stems are less likely to coil on branches of Platanus racemosa. During the dry season, when cellular expansion is difficult, all p. racemosa branches were coiled upon. Large parasites are more likely to over-winter and set seed a second season, and parasites that start from over-wintered tissue are significantly larger at flowering than are those that have started from seed. Seed set is correlated with parasite size, thus linking foraging response and fitness of the plant. C. subinclusa's foraging response does not, however, predict population level patterns of host use. The principal determinant of host use by C. subinclusa is average proximity of a species to Malosma laurina. Parasite individuals infest many host species each season, but initially establish, set most seed, and over-winter only on M. laurina. Individual response of C. subinclusa contributes to the model of host use only after proximity to M. laurina is accounted for, suggesting that mechanisms maximizing exploitation of a host take effect after contact between host and parasite.

Ticks are obligate haematophagous arthropods that represent a major economic drain upon the world's livestock as well being a significant medical and veterinary risk through the transmission of tick-borne pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. The tick-host relationship is a function of both ecological and physiological factors. Successful feeding requires the effective acquisition and digestion of a bloodmeal by the tick. Acquisition relies upon the ability of the tick to counteract host immune responses induced by the extended feeding periods of ixodid ticks (up to 2 weeks). The host response to tick infestation and the consequent countermeasures employed by the tick, constitute the tick-host interface. The immune response of hosts to Ixodes ricinus infestations was examined through antigenic profiling. The antigens exposed to the host were shown to vary throughout the feeding period and differed between the different development stages of I. ricinus. It was also shown that different host species infested with I. ricinus recognised different antigens. This was true of both natural and non-natural hosts, and even closely related species. Anti-complement activity was investigated in the salivary glands of Ixodes ticks. This activity was shown to inhibit some host species but not others. The pattern of inhibitory activity varied between the tick species tested in a way that was consistent with known tick host-preferences. The mechanisms of anti-complement activity in I. ricinus salivary glands were explored. The alternative but not the classical pathway of complement was inhibited. Activity was present in unfed ticks and throughout the feeding period. Three targets of the complement system were identified as being modulated by the tick. Digestion of the bloodmeal was explored and a haemolytic activity was associated with the salivary glands of I. ricinus ticks. The activity was demonstrated to be Mg²⁺- dependent. In addition, a subtractive cDNA library enriched for saliva-associated transcripts was successfully produced. Random sampling identified putative differentially expressed genes. The results of this thesis illustrate the complexity of tick-host interactions at the molecular level. It is apparent that the research described poses many more questions than answers.

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Bibliography: leaves 113-144. Investigates the functions of the maternal, protein secretions of the endoparasitoid wasps Venturia canescens Gravenhorst regarding their role in providing protection against the host's immune system. Also investigates mucinous protein secretions on the egg surface and coagulation reactions and their role in protecting eggs against host cellular attacks.

Most, if not all, animals will at some stage in their lives encounter parasites. Some of the most widespread and abundant parasites belong to the Class Trematoda. Trematodes often have a substantial negative impact on individual intermediate host ecology. In this thesis, I investigate ecological and evolutionary consequences of the interaction between the microphallid trematode, Maritrema novaezealandensis, and its intermediate snail and crustacean hosts. Parasites often show a heterogeneous spatial distribution pattern in natural animal host populations. In this study, factors determining the spatial distribution of larval trematodes in Zeacumantus subcarinatus were investigated at two spatial scales (within and among bays). The distribution of shorebird definitive hosts explained a significant amount of the variation in the distribution of trematodes among bays. However, within a bay, other factors override the effect of bird distribution. The influence of larval trematodes on reproduction, survival and population density of Z. subcarinatus was investigated using laboratory and field studies. In the laboratory, it was found that larval trematodes induce castration and mortality of Z. subcarinatus. The field study revealed that the local prevalence of trematodes had a significant negative effect on population density of Z. subcarinatus. Through castration, trematodes act as strong selective agents on snail host life history. The effect of trematodes on life history characteristics (reproductive effort, juvenile growth, size at maturity and susceptibility to trematode infections) were investigated among natural populations of Z subcarinatus. Reproductive effort was not higher for uninfected females from populations where the risk of becoming infected was high. However, offspring from those populations were significantly larger, and laboratory-reared juveniles grew significantly faster than conspecifics from other populations. In addition, size at maturity was negatively correlated with trematode prevalence across snail populations. Z. subcarinatus thus adapts to a high local risk of trematode infection by reaching maturity early, thereby increasing the chance of reproducing. The influence of M. novaezealandensis on the survial of the amphipod host, Paracalliope novizealandiae was examined using experimental infections and field observations. The experimental infections demonstrated that parasite-induced mortality was intensity-dependent. The number of M. novaezealandensis per amphipod was too low to significantly induce host mortality in the field. However, the transmission strategy of this parasite allows it to affect host populations during weather conditions ideal for trematode transmission. Trematode strategies in the second intermediate host are important to the understanding of host-parasite co-evolution and the evolution of parasite life cycles. In this study, potential density-dependent effects at the metacercarial stage on size and fecundity of in vitro adult M. novaezealandensis was examined in both experimentally infected P. novizealandiae and naturally infected Macrophthalmus hirtipes. For this purpose, a method to excyst and cultivate M. novaezealandensis metacercariae to an egg producing stage, was developed. Naturally infected M. hirtipes also harboured larval stages of three other helminths. Crowding effects in the two crustacean hosts were expressed as a decreased volume and smaller egg production of in vitro adult M. novaezealandensis. In addition, interspecific interactions among parasite species were observed in crab hosts. The work in this thesis provides evidence that M. novaezealandensis significantly and negatively affect intermediate host ecology. The heterogeneous distribution of trematodes causes differential effects among host populations with subsequent effects on the life history of snail hosts. In addition, this study demonstrates that parasites interact within their second intermediate host with possible implications for the way parasites exploit their hosts.

Bibliography: leaves 113-144. / ix, 144 leaves, [56] leaves of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Investigates the functions of the maternal, protein secretions of the endoparasitoid wasps Venturia canescens Gravenhorst regarding their role in providing protection against the host's immune system. Also investigates mucinous protein secretions on the egg surface and coagulation reactions and their role in protecting eggs against host cellular attacks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied & Molecular Ecology, 2002