Abstract
BackgroundStudies of parasite communities and patterns in the Antarctic are an important knowledge base with the potential to track shifts in ecological relations and study the effects of climate change on host–parasite systems. Endemic Nototheniinae is the dominant fish group found in Antarctic marine habitats. Through their intermediate position within the food web, Nototheniinae link lower to higher trophic levels and thereby also form an important component of parasite life cycles. The study was set out to gain insight into the parasite fauna of Nototheniops larseni, N. nudifrons and Lepidonotothen squamifrons (Nototheniinae) from Elephant Island (Antarctica).MethodsSampling was conducted at three locations around Elephant Island during the ANT-XXVIII/4 expedition of the research vessel Polarstern. The parasite fauna of three Nototheniine species was analysed, and findings were compared to previous parasitological and ecological research collated from a literature review.ResultsAll host species shared the parasites Neolebouria antarctica (Digenea), Corynosoma bullosum (Acanthocephala) and Pseudoterranova decipiens E (Nematoda). Other parasite taxa were exclusive to one host species in this study. Nototheniops nudifrons was infected by Ascarophis nototheniae (Nematoda), occasional infections of N. larseni with Echinorhynchus petrotschenkoi (Acanthocephala) and L. squamifrons with Elytrophalloides oatesi (Digenea) and larval tetraphyllidean Cestoda were detected.ConclusionAll examined fish species’ parasites were predominantly euryxenous regarding their fish hosts. The infection of Lepidonotothen squamifrons with Lepidapedon garrardi (Digenea) and Nototheniops larseni with Echinorhynchus petrotschenkoi represent new host records. Despite the challenges and limited opportunities for fishing in remote areas, future studies should continue sampling on a more regular basis and include a larger number of fish species and sampling sites within different habitats.
Highlights
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) which forms the boundaries of the Southern Ocean is the biggest physiothermal barrier found in the world oceans [1, 2]
While there was mostly mucus detected in the stomachs of Nototheniops larseni and L. nudifrons, most food items of L. squamifrons were assigned to a taxonomic group (Table S2)
Euphausiacea were identified as a food item and one specimen had preyed on fish
Summary
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) which forms the boundaries of the Southern Ocean is the biggest physiothermal barrier found in the world oceans [1, 2]. The area around Elephant Island (South Shetland Islands) is characterised by its high net production as one of the nursery areas of the keystone species Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba Dana, 1850), the region’s most important energy resource [5,6,7,8,9]. It belongs to the seasonal pack ice zone, which is defined by not being covered by an ice sheet perennially. Despite the challenges and limited opportunities for fishing in remote areas, future studies should continue sampling on a more regular basis and include a larger number of fish species and sampling sites within different habitats
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