kristen cook
mountain whitefish susceptibility to a myxozoan parasite under thermal stress
Prolific kidney disease (PKD) was responsible for the mass mortality of mountain whitefish in 2016 on the Yellowstone River, Montana. The strong connectivity between temperature and PKD development and mortalities of salmonids suggest climate change will result in increased disease prevalence and severity. The parasite causing PKD, Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, is present in several river systems in western Montana and river temperatures are expected to continue to increase.
Kristen Cook, a graduate student at Montana State University, is studying the thermal requirements of juvenile mountain whitefish in the Madison River, Montana, and the susceptibility of this species to T. bryosalmonae under thermal stress.