Histology of Alarm Substance Cells in Relation to Parasite Load and Fish Size for Hornyhead Chub (Nocomis biguttatus)

Abstract

It is generally thought that alarm substance cells (ASC) found in fish epidermis evolved as a means of reducing predation risk via the release of a chemical substance these cells hold. This study focused on the Hornyhead Chub (HC, Nocomis biguttatus) and explored the effects of black spot parasite burden, fish length, epidermal thickness and mucus cell densities on ASC.