Abstract
Despite being an important component of the marine ecosystem and posing health risks to human seafood consumers, fish parasites in Indonesia have yet to be adequately described. Here, we analyzed the diet and metazoan parasite fauna of seven commercial fish species (Alectis indica, Carangoides chrysophrys, Johnius borneensis, Mene maculata, Trichiurus lepturus, Upeneus asymmetricus, U. moluccensis) landed in Java, Indonesia. We isolated 11 endoparasite species, established 22 new host and 14 new locality records, and extended parasitological records of A. indica by 24%, C. chrysophrys by 25%, J. borneensis by 40%, M. maculata by 44%, U. asymmetricus by 100%, and U. moluccensis by 17%. We genetically identified the trematode Stephanostomum cf. uku (of Bray et al. 2005) from Alecta indica for the first time in Indonesia and provided the sequence of its 28S marker. Stomach content analysis revealed seven different prey items, and the examined fish species were grouped into four feeding categories, which differed significantly in their respective endoparasite fauna. All but two examined fish species hosted potentially zoonotic nematodes, which reveal a risk for parasite-borne diseases in Indonesian food fishes and call for more consequent monitoring with regard to seafood safety in this region. With this study, we were able to establish an association between the feeding ecology and the endoparasite fauna of marine fishes which will help to better understand the transmission pathways of (potentially zoonotic) parasites in food fishes in tropical waters.
Highlights
Endoparasites have a diverse range of effects on their hosts
We found that nematodes were the most predominant parasite group
They were represented with six taxa, infected hosts with the highest prevalence, and showed the highest intensities (Table 3). Due to their complex life cycles and many intermediate hosts, nematodes infect a wide range of phyla (Køie 2001; Shamsi 2014) and their zoonotic potential has been discussed in recent years in Indonesia (Palm et al 2008; Klimpel and Palm 2011; Dewi and Palm 2017)
Summary
Endoparasites have a diverse range of effects on their hosts. In fishes, they can impair host growth, survival, reproduction, and mortality, transmit diseases, and affect the Section Editor: Matthew Thomas Wayland1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)Parasitology Research spp., and Terranova spp. (Shamsi et al 2018; Rahmati et al 2020). Endoparasites have a diverse range of effects on their hosts. In fishes, they can impair host growth, survival, reproduction, and mortality, transmit diseases, and affect the Section Editor: Matthew Thomas Wayland. Anisakiasis is a disease caused by thirdstage Anisakis spp. larvae, and symptoms can range from intestinal pain to allergic reactions (Sakanari and McKerrow 1989; Slifko et al 2000; Klimpel and Palm 2011; Mattiucci et al 2018). Many zoonotic nematode species are found in tropical waters; for example, Palm et al (2017) reported A. berlandi and A. pegreffii from Auxis rochei for the first time from Bali, Indonesia. As host migrations and marine food webs may change due to climate change (Palm et al 2011; Worm and Lotze 2021), this research area should be a focus of the investigation
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