Distribution and habitat characteristics of Tubifex tubifex, intermediate host of whirling disease, in Banff National Park

Whelan, Colby

Distribution and habitat characteristics of Tubifex tubifex, intermediate host of whirling disease, in Banff National Park

dc.contributor.advisor	Jackson, Leland J.
dc.contributor.author	Whelan, Colby
dc.contributor.committeemember	Summers, Mindi
dc.contributor.committeemember	Taylor, Mark
dc.contributor.committeemember	Bender, Darren J.
dc.date	2020-11
dc.date.accessioned	2020-09-25T14:20:45Z
dc.date.available	2020-09-25T14:20:45Z
dc.date.issued	2020-09-22
dc.description.abstract	Whirling Disease was discovered in Canada for the first time in 2016, at Johnson Lake, Banff National Park. The disease is caused by the parasite Myxobolus cerebralis and has caused major declines in trout populations in the United States. The presence of whirling disease in Banff National Park could be detrimental to the recovery of the two native trout species, which are both listed as threatened. The parasite affects salmonid fish, but also requires a second obligate host, the oligochaete, Tubifex tubifex. The presence and distribution of T. tubifex in a waterbody are important factors to predict where M. cerebralis may spread. Occupancy modelling was tested as a method for surveying the distribution of T. tubifex at the site of first detection, Johnson Lake. T. tubifex were present, though had a patchy distribution with low detection probability. High inorganic carbon concentration in the lake sediment was negatively associated with T. tubifex presence. Two watersheds within Banff National Park were also surveyed, zero T. tubifex were found within the Cascade watershed, while T. tubifex had a patchy distribution within the Spray watershed. Habitat covariates were tested using General Linear Models, and T. tubifex were found to be significantly associated with low landscape level slope, and a small contributing area. These results suggest that the presence of T. tubifex is not ubiquitous in waterbodies in the region and understanding habitat could help discover areas with T. tubifex presence.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Whelan, C. (2020). Distribution and habitat characteristics of Tubifex tubifex, intermediate host of whirling disease, in Banff National Park (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/38231
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/112571
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Science	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	Tubifex	en_US
dc.subject	Whirling Disease	en_US
dc.subject	Myxobolus	en_US
dc.subject	cerebralis	en_US
dc.subject	Westslope Cutthroat	en_US
dc.subject	Banff	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Ecology	en_US
dc.title	Distribution and habitat characteristics of Tubifex tubifex, intermediate host of whirling disease, in Banff National Park	en_US
dc.type	master thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Biological Sciences	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US