Abstract
AEI Aquaculture Environment Interactions Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AEI 7:15-27 (2015) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00134 Abundance and distribution of planktonic Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Caligus elongatus in a fish farming region in the Faroe Islands G. á Norði1,*, K. Simonsen1, E. Danielsen1, K. Eliasen1, A. Mols-Mortensen1, D. H. Christiansen2, P. Steingrund3, M. Galbraith4, Ø. Patursson1 1Fiskaaling - Aquaculture Research Station of the Faroes, við Áir, 430 Hvalvík, Faroe Islands 2Faroese Food and Veterinary Authority, V. U. Hammershaimbsgøta 11, 100 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands 3Faroe Marine Research Institute, Nóatún 1, 100 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands 4Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, 9860 West Saanich Road, Sidney, British Columbia W8L 4B2, Canada *Corresponding author: gunnvor@fiskaaling.fo ABSTRACT: The abundance of planktonic sea lice in the surface waters of the strait of Sundalagið, Faroe Islands was investigated from November 2013 to June 2014. The strait is 38 km long and hosts 6 salmon farms with coordinated farming cycles. The spatial distribution of planktonic sea lice for the entire strait was examined in 2 surveys with different wind and hydrographic conditions. Temporal changes were investigated every 2-3 wk at 3 set stations throughout the study. The spatial distribution of Lepeophtheirus salmonis copepodids was clearly influenced by the actual wind direction, as the copepodids were found where winds pushed surface waters towards the shore. The same spatial pattern was not found for Caligus elongatus copepodids. This might be related to a different vertical migration pattern. The abundance of C. elongatus was seasonal. It was the dominant planktonic sea louse during winter, with a mean abundance of 0.34 ± 0.13 ind. m-3, and was virtually absent during summer. Lepeophtheirus salmonis was present throughout the study, except during the last survey when the coordinated farming sites lay fallow. During winter when the warmest seawater was deep in the water column, L. salmonis copepodids were present in 47% of the samples and nauplii were only observed in 9%. In samples where the highest seawater temperature was at the surface, nauplii prevalence attained a high value of 53%, while copepodid prevalence increased to 60%. These results indicate that nauplii might actively seek the highest possible seawater temperature. KEY WORDS: Lepeophtheirus salmonis · Caligus elongatus · Sea lice · Infectious copepodid · Nauplii · Aquaculture Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: á Norði G, Simonsen K, Danielsen E, Eliasen K and others (2015) Abundance and distribution of planktonic Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Caligus elongatus in a fish farming region in the Faroe Islands. Aquacult Environ Interact 7:15-27. https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00134 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AEI Vol. 7, No. 1. Online publication date: June 08, 2015 Print ISSN: 1869-215X; Online ISSN: 1869-7534 Copyright © 2015 Inter-Research.
Highlights
Sea lice are ubiquitously associated with salmon farms, and have been rated as the most damaging parasites in the salmon farming industry (Costello 2006)
This study provides the first insight into the spatial and temporal distribution of planktonic sea lice in the Faroe Islands
The density of planktonic sea lice was within the range found in other regions (Costelloe et al 1998, Penston et al 2004, 2008, 2011, Penston & Davies 2009, Molinet et al 2011, Morton et al 2011)
Summary
Sea lice are ubiquitously associated with salmon farms, and have been rated as the most damaging parasites in the salmon farming industry (Costello 2006). In Faroese fish farming areas, the temperature (6−12°C) and salinity (> 30) are highly suitable for Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L., 1758 farming, as well as for production of sea lice (Johnson & Albright 1991). Both species have 2 planktonic nauplii stages prior to the infective copepodid stage. The duration of the nauplii stages is temperature dependent, with shorter development time at higher temperatures. To our knowledge, sensing of temperature has not been observed in laboratory experiments, but model simulations have shown that it would be beneficial for nauplii to seek the highest possible temperature vertically, as this would reduce the duration of nauplii stages by up to 1 d, decreasing the risk of mortality (Johnsen et al 2014)
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