Personality influences risk of parasitism in fish

Influence of fish personality on infection rate is almost not studied. In the experiments on the young-of-the-year Oncorhynchus mykiss and cercariae of a trematode Diplostomum pseudospathaceum we tested the hypothesis that infection rate differs between more and less active (“bold” and “shy”) fish. Will individual differences in infection persist upon re-infection? Fish serve as a second intermediate host for this trematode. A positive correlation was found between the results of consecutive infections. Accumulation of parasites with successive infections leads to an aggregated distribution of D. pseudospathaceum among the hosts, affecting individual fitness and polymorphism in fish populations. Persistent individual differences in parasite burden among fish and, as a result, vulnerability for predators confirms the role of parasites as an important factor of natural selection.