Fish parasites in the Arctic deep-sea: Poor diversity in pelagic fish species vs. heavy parasite load in a demersal fish

Autor: Klimpel, S., Palm, H.W., Busch, M.W., Kellermanns, E., Rückert, S.
In:

Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers

Bandangabe: 53
Auflage: 7
Ergaenzung: CODEN: DRORE DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2006.05.009
ISBN: ISSN: 09670637
Seite: 1167 - 1181
Jahr: 2006

Einordung:
Institut: Professur Aquakultur und Sea-Ranching

Abstract:
A total of 219 deep-sea fishes belonging to five families were examined for the parasite fauna and stomach contents. The
demersal fish Macrourus berglax, bathypelagic Bathylagus euryops, and mesopelagic Argentina silus, Borostomias
antarcticus, Chauliodus sloani, and Lampanyctus macdonaldi were caught at 243–708m trawling depth in the Greenland
and the Irminger Sea in 2002. A total of 21 different parasite species, six Digenea, one Monogenea, two Cestoda, seven
Nematoda, one Acanthocephala, and four Crustacea, were found. The parasite diversity in the meso- and bathypelagic
environment was less diverse in comparison to the benthal. Macrourus berglax had the highest diversity (20 species),
usually carrying 4–10 different parasite species (mean 7.1), whereas Bathylagus euryops harbored up to three and Argentina
silus, Borostomias antarcticus, Chauliodus sloani and Lampanyctus macdonaldi each up to two species. Most Digenea,
Cestoda, Nematoda, Acanthocephala, and Crustacea are known from a wide host range. Several of the encountered
parasites occurred at a very low prevalence (o10%), indicating that the studied deep-sea fishes are most probably not
instrumental to complete the parasite life cycles in the area of investigation. It is suggested that the lack of nutrients in the
meso- and bathypelagial limits the abundance of potential first intermediate hosts of nematodes and cestodes, resulting in
low infestation rates even of widely distributed, non-specific species. In contrast, the higher biomass in the benthic deep-sea
environment increases the availability of potential intermediate hosts, such as molluscs for the digeneans, resulting in
increased parasite diversity. Because many deep-sea fish have a generalistic feeding behavior, the observed different
parasite diversity reflects a different depth range of the fish and not necessarily a specific fish feeding ecology.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ansprechpartner

Zur Publikation: Mitarbeiter, Projekte
Weitere Publikationen im Forschungsteilschwerpunkt