Abstract
Since the 1990s, possibly earlier, large numbers of Asian swamp eels (Synbranchidae: Monopterus spp.), some wild-caught, have been imported live from various countries in Asia and sold in ethnic food markets in cities throughout the USA and parts of Canada. Such markets are the likely introduction pathway of some, perhaps most, of the five known wild populations of Asian swamp eels present in the continental United States. This paper presents results of a pilot study intended to gather baseline data on the occurrence and abundance of internal macroparasites infecting swamp eels imported from Asia to North American retail food markets. These data are important in assessing the potential role that imported swamp eels may play as possible vectors of non-native parasites. Examination of the gastrointestinal tracts and associated tissues of 19 adult-sized swamp eels—identified as M. albus “Clade C”—imported from Vietnam and present in a U.S. retail food market revealed that 18 (95%) contained macroparasites. The 394 individual parasites recovered included a mix of nematodes, acanthocephalans, cestodes, digeneans, and pentastomes. The findings raise concern because of the likelihood that some parasites infecting market swamp eels imported from Asia are themselves Asian taxa, some possibly new to North America. The ecological risk is exacerbated because swamp eels sold in food markets are occasionally retained live by customers and a few reportedly released into the wild. For comparative purposes, M. albus “Clade C” swamp eels from a non-native population in Florida (USA) were also examined and most (84%) were found to be infected with internal macroparasites. The current level of analysis does not allow us to confirm whether these are non-native parasites.
Highlights
A serious threat posed by the introduction of non-native fishes results from their role in the transfer of new or non-native parasites (BunkleyWilliams and Williams 1994; Škoriková et al 1996; Font 2003; Salgado-Maldonado and Pineda-López 2003; Gozlan et al 2006; Peeler et al 2011)
Asian swamp eels examined for parasites were obtained from two sources: 19 individuals purchased live from an ethnic food market in the Atlanta metropolitan area (Georgia, USA) on 7 August 2003 (Figure 1); and 50 specimens captured by electrofishing in a freshwater lake in Manatee County within the Tampa Bay drainage of Florida, on 28 July 2003
Because the recovered parasites were not stained during initial preservation or were otherwise in poor condition, it was not possible during later re-examination of material to reliably distinguish non-native taxa or determine whether any of the taxa had been previously recovered from fish inhabiting North American waters
Summary
A serious threat posed by the introduction of non-native fishes results from their role in the transfer of new or non-native parasites (BunkleyWilliams and Williams 1994; Škoriková et al 1996; Font 2003; Salgado-Maldonado and Pineda-López 2003; Gozlan et al 2006; Peeler et al 2011). In North America, fish imports have long been associated with the aquarium and aquaculture industries, but since about the mid-1980s an increasing number of live fish have been transported and distributed to food markets in the USA and Canada. Among these are certain fishes introduced from Asia to North America known or suspected of having aided in the introduction and spread of non-native parasites (Alcaraz et al 1999; Salgado-Maldonado and Pineda-López 2003). Despite expansion of the international live food trade, little attention has been given to live food markets in North America and their role as a pathway for introduced foreign fishes and fish-borne parasites
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