The nematode Contraceacum multipapillatum at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge and how it affects its host, the brook stickleback
Faculty Mentor
Krisztian Magori
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
4-14-2026 12:20 PM
End Date
4-14-2026 12:40 PM
Location
PUB 317
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Biology
Abstract
A species of nematode, Contracaecum multipapillatum, was found in the heart of a Brook Stickleback (Culaea inconstans) collected from Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR) in 2019. We aim to confirm that Middle Pine Lake at TNWR sustains a complete life cycle of the parasitic nematode, while also conducting a feeding experiment to assess the effect of parasitism on the feeding habits of brook stickleback. We hypothesize that there is an existing egg bank in the sediment of Middle Pine Lake, as well as that there is one, or at most a few, zooplankton species that are critical intermediate hosts. Samples of zooplankton and sediment were acquired using a 153 μm sieve drug across the top of the lake, and with a sediment corer at random locations, respectively. DNA was extracted from both sets of samples, and PCR analysis is still ongoing to amplify a specific primer region to confirm DNA presence. Our hypothesis for the feeding experiment is that parasitized fish will eat a smaller amount of food as compared to non-parasitized fish. To conduct this experiment, we collected and housed 100 Brook Sticklebacks in individual tanks and provided them with the same amount of food for the same amount of time. Any uneaten food was weighed to calculate the total amount eaten. Fish were euthanized, weighed, and dissected to observe parasite infection. Out of the 100 fish used, only 6 were infected with nematodes, and these did not show evidence of significantly different feeding habits compared to unparasitized fish.
Recommended Citation
Sides, Cooper and Matheny, Jeremiah, "The nematode Contraceacum multipapillatum at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge and how it affects its host, the brook stickleback" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 10.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/op_2026/o1_2026/10
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
The nematode Contraceacum multipapillatum at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge and how it affects its host, the brook stickleback
PUB 317
A species of nematode, Contracaecum multipapillatum, was found in the heart of a Brook Stickleback (Culaea inconstans) collected from Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR) in 2019. We aim to confirm that Middle Pine Lake at TNWR sustains a complete life cycle of the parasitic nematode, while also conducting a feeding experiment to assess the effect of parasitism on the feeding habits of brook stickleback. We hypothesize that there is an existing egg bank in the sediment of Middle Pine Lake, as well as that there is one, or at most a few, zooplankton species that are critical intermediate hosts. Samples of zooplankton and sediment were acquired using a 153 μm sieve drug across the top of the lake, and with a sediment corer at random locations, respectively. DNA was extracted from both sets of samples, and PCR analysis is still ongoing to amplify a specific primer region to confirm DNA presence. Our hypothesis for the feeding experiment is that parasitized fish will eat a smaller amount of food as compared to non-parasitized fish. To conduct this experiment, we collected and housed 100 Brook Sticklebacks in individual tanks and provided them with the same amount of food for the same amount of time. Any uneaten food was weighed to calculate the total amount eaten. Fish were euthanized, weighed, and dissected to observe parasite infection. Out of the 100 fish used, only 6 were infected with nematodes, and these did not show evidence of significantly different feeding habits compared to unparasitized fish.
