Fig. 1: Focal species and experimental setup. | Communications Biology

Fig. 1: Focal species and experimental setup.

From: The ectoparasitic seal louse, Echinophthirius horridus, relies on a sealed tracheal system and spiracle closing apparatus for underwater respiration

Fig. 1

A An adult seal louse, E. horridus, on seal fur. B Potential diving depth and diving duration of the harbor seal, P. vitulina. C General experimental setup of the buoyancy experiment with [1] as starting point of the experiment and [2] as final position of the seal louse after 3 h of experiment. D Experimental sequence of buoyancy experiment. First, 3 h exposure to Baltic Sea water; after 24 h recovery exposure to Baltic Sea water mixed with 0.1% Triton X followed by 24 h recovery time and 3 h washing process in Baltic Sea water; afterwards, again 3 h exposure to Baltic Sea water. Abbreviations: cw (copper wire); sl (seal louse); sw (sea water); wh (wire holder). Parts of the image were reproduced from Preuss et al. 2024 with the agreement of all authors.

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