Parasitic Crustaceans Research Articles

Comparative Physiology and Nutrition of Lagenidium callinectes and Haliphthoros milfordensis, Fungal Parasites of Marine Crustaceans

AbstractLagenidium callinectes Couch and Haliphthoros milfordensis Vishniac. facultative parasites of marine crustaceans, were subjected to a detailed analysis of their physiological and nutritional requirements. Twelve isolates, six of each species. were used in this study. Temperature, salinity, and pH ranges of growth were determined. Vitamins B

A New Maxillopodan Crustacean, Parasitic On a Myodocopid Ostracod

A new genus and species of crustacean parasite, closely related to a parasite Basipodella harpacticola Becker, 1975, found on the harpacticoid copepod Pseudomesochra minor Becker, 1974, is described from a female ostracod Metavargula mazeri Kornicker, 1979. These parasites are Maxillopoda (Branchiura, Mystacocarida, Copepoda, and Cirripedia) and it is postulated they are cirripeds with characters in common with both the Rhizocephala and Ascothoracica. This is the first record of a crustacean parasite from an ostracod host that is neither a copepod nor an isopod.

Cleaning Stations as Water Holes, Garbage Dumps, and Sites for the Evolution of Reciprocal Altriusm?

Since the publication of Limbaugh's (1961) popular account of cleaning symbiosis among fishes, the topic has attracted considerable attention from the scientific community (e.g., Youngbluth 1968; Hobson 1969, 1971; Abel 1971; Ayling and Grace 1971; Losey 1971, 1972a, 1972b, 1974a, 1974b; Losey and Margules 1974; Wyman and Ward 1972; Potts 1973a, 1973b; Darcy et al. 1974; Sulak 1975). Cleaning behavior involves feeding by cleaner organisms on ectoparasites, scales, mucus, and other materials from the body surfaces and oral and gill cavities of "cooperating" host fishes. Members of many marine and freshwater fish families have been documented as cleaners (Labridae, Gobiidae, Chaetodontidae, Cichlidae, Centrarchidae, etc.). Within most cleaning associations, many different host species interact with a cleaner and perform similar behaviors. Thus cleaning symbiosis serves as an excellent example of a widespread multiple symbiosis, which may well have involved convergent evolution of cleaning organisms and coevolution of cleaners, hosts, and ectoparasites. The value of such an important example, however, requires the correction of earlier papers that now appear inaccurate in view of recent results and comment on recent papers that are misleading because they have largely ignored the most recent studies. Hobson (1969, 1971) has begun this task by presenting data and arguments against accepting many of the broad but untested generalizations about cleaning symbiosis which have been accepted as facts, including claims of substantial differences between cleaners and between cleaning behaviors in temperate and tropical seas and widely accepted but unsubstantiated claims that many good sport-fishing grounds exist because fishes aggregate in these areas in order to be cleaned. We will address two areas related to past and recent research on cleaning symbiosis: (1) the importance of cleaning to reef ecology; (2) the validity of cleaning as an example of reciprocal altruism. We will also consider some minor inaccuracies that remain in the literature and frequently acquire much importance when cited or reviewed.

Population biology of parasites of striped mullet, Mugil cephalus L. Crustacea

Class 0 and class 1 striped mullet, Mugil cephalus, were collected from May 1970 to June 1971 to study development, seasonal abundance of parasite populations, and distribution of gill parasites. Crustacean parasites observed were Ergasilus lizae, E. versicolor, E.funduli, Bomolochus concinnus, Brachiella oblonga, Caligus mfimaculatus, Clavella inversa, Lernaeeni–cus longiventris, Argulus funduli and A. chesapeakensis sp.n. Cressey. Cyclipoid copepods initially infected class 0 mullet in late spring and populations were characterized by surges in intensity at 6 to 8 week intervals. Caligoid copepods initially infected class 0 mullet in late summer and fall or appeared only on class 1 mullet. Intensity remained low, but they were observed consistently. Branchiurans were rarely observed on class 0 mullet and occurred consistently at low intensity on class 1 mullet. Study of distribution of five gill parasites indicated a high degree of gill habitat subdivision, but competitive exclusion was not observed.

Occurence of the Crustacean Parasite, Lernaea cyprinacea, on Fishes from the White River at Petersburg, Indiana

Occurence of the Crustacean Parasite, Lernaea cyprinacea, on Fishes from the White River at Petersburg, Indiana

A comparison of the parasite fauna of young whiting, Odontogadus merlangus (L.) (Gadidae) from an inshore and an offshore location off the Isle of Man

The occurrence of 12 helminth and 4 crustacean parasites on young whiting 0–2 years old from an inshore (Port Erin Bay) and an offshore (off Bradda Head) area of the Isle of Man were compared. No parasites were found on whiting 4.5–15 mm long and the intestinal digenean Lecithaster gibbosus Rudolphi together with the larvae of the copepod Caligus rapax M. Edwards were the first parasites to appear in whiting 15–42 mm long. This appears to be the only time during the life history of the whiting that C. rapax is of importance as a parasite. In whiting 6 months‐2 years old from off Bradda Head such helminths as the acanthocephalan Echinorhynchus gadi Muller and the digeneans Podocotyle atomon Muller and Cryptocotyle lingua Creplin (metacercariae) were found in significantly fewer fish than in an equivalent group from Port Erin Bay. The differences are correlated with the availability of intermediate hosts and the different food spectra of the two groups of fish and are used to support the theory that inshore and offshore whiting of these age groups form separate populations and that the offshore fish may be more important than the inshore fish in replenishing stocks of older whiting.

The parasitic Crustacea of African freshwater fishes; their biology and distribution

The known distribution of the parasitic crustaceans of African freshwater fishes, which now include some 80 more or less adequately described taxa, is summarized, and the significance of some of the patterns which they exhibit is discussed. Information is given on the taxonomy biology and evolution of certain species.

A mass die-off of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) caused by parasites.

In early August 1966 a report was received that large numbers of fish were dying in Ocean Pond, a large lake lying approximately 40 mi to the west of St. John's, Newfoundland. The report was investigated and large numbers of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) were found either dead or dying aroung the edge of the lake. Four hundred and forty-three fishes were collected (439 were three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., 3 nine-spined sticklebacks, Pungitius pungitius L., and 1 eastern brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill)), placed in 10% formalin, and examined at a later date to try to determine the cause of death. The external surface of each fish was examined for ectoparasites and lesions and then the whole of each host animal was examined for endoparasites. The nine-spined sticklebacks and the eastern brook trout were found to be free of helminth and crustacean parasites. However, 99.09% of the three-spined sticklebacks were found to be infected with plerocercoids of Schistocephalus solidus (Muller, 1776), 45.10% with Thersitina gasterostei Pagenstecher, 1861, and 8.88% by Crepidostomum farionis (Muller, 1784) (Table I). Almost all the fishes carried a heavy burden of Argulus canadensis Wilson, 1916 and large numbers of specimens of this species were found in the bottles in which the fish were preserved. As many of the specimens of A. canadensis had dropped off the host fish, figures for this species are not included in Table I. Pippy (1965) examined 6 eastern brook trout and 11 landlocked salmon (Salmo salar sebago Girard) from Ocean Pond and found Crepidostomum farionis and Argulus canadensis, which is apparently seasonal in its time of appearance, specimens being found only in late summer. A number of small, immature, unidentified cestodes were found in the intestine of some sticklebacks, whilst one fish was found to be heavily infected by the ciliate Ichthyophthirius

The effect of infection by gram-negative bacteria, and their endotoxins, on the blood-clotting mechanism of the crustacean Sacculina carcini, a parasite of the crab Carcinus maenas

The cell-free clear plasma of healthy specimens of the parasitic crustacean, Sacculina carcini, coagulates into a nonretractable gel on contact with glass. Infection of the body cavity of Sacculina with gram-negative bacteria, or the injection of endotoxin from gram-negative bacteria, causes internal coagulation so that fluid subsequently obtained is incoagulable. The apparent exhaustion of coagulation is accompanied by progressive infection and death of the parasite. It is suggested that this endotoxin-stimulated coagulation functions as a protective mechanism against trauma and infection of the exposed parasite.

Habitat Selection and Gregarious Behaviour in Parasitic Crustaceans

An Hand des Verhaltens einiger parasitischer Copepoden und Branchiuren afrikanischer Susswasserfische wird eine Neigung zum Aggregieren beim Wirtsbefall nachgewiesen. Ein festgesetzter Parasit veranlasst andere Parasiten, sich ebenfalls anzusiedeln. Der statistische Beleg fur diese Tatsache wird in Tabelle I erbracht. Das Problem der Standortwahl wird erortert und andere Beispiele diskutiert. Die Erkenntnisse, welche uber Aggregationsbildungen bei festsitzenden Meeres-tieren gewonnen worden sind, lassen sich offenbar nicht ohne weiteres auf die bei Parasiten angetroffenen Verhaltnisse anwenden

Types and Sources of Pigments in Certain Species of Larval Trematodes

Several parasitic organisms belonging to different animal phyla are known to exhibit brilliant coloration in a diversity of patterns and colors. This is particularly true of many helminths. Although casual references to pigmentation have been made by various authors in taxonomic and morphological literature, to the present author's knowledge no organized work has been undertaken to study the chemical nature and origin of pigments found in larval and adult helminths. Several kinds of pigments like haemoglobin and its derivatives, cytochromes, flavins, protoporphyrin, and coproporphyrin, have been reported from parasitic worms (Brand, 1952; Fox, 1953). Carotenoid pigments are known to occur in polyclad turbellarians (Francotte, 1898); in parasitic infusorians like Spirophrya, Polyspira, and Gymnodinioides (Chatton et al, 1926) and in a crustacean parasite, Sacculina (Lenel, 1954). The only record of the occurrence of a carotenoid pigment in a helminth has been made by Van Cleave and Rausch (1950) who reported to have obtained characteristic color reaction for carotene in an acanthocephalan, Arhythmorhynchus comptus. The present report is concerned with the chemical nature and origin of pigments found in sporocysts, rediae, and cercariae of a few species of trematodes. The various larval stages are colored yellow, orange, brown, blue-green, green, and so on. In order to trace the sources of pigments in these parasites, it was necessary to study the pigments of the marine snail, Cerithidea californica Haldeman, in which these larvae develop, and of the algae upon which the snails feed. Efforts have been made to correlate the host-parasite relationship of pigments by way of the food-chain cycle.

STUDIES ON SOME PARASITIC CRUSTACEANS ON AFRICAN FRESHWATER FISHES, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF A NEW COPEPOD OF THE GENUS ERGASILUS AND A NEW BRANCHIURAN OF THE GENUS CHONOPELTIS

SUMMARYTwo new parasitic crustaceans of African freshwater fishes are described. These are the copepod Ergasilus Zutue, from L. Rudolf, and the branchiuran. Chonopeltis flaccijrons from various parts of the Congo system.A description of the true male of Argulus ambloplites is given, and in the light of its structure it is suggested that A. jollymani is best regarded as a sub‐species of A. ambloplites.The male of Argulus dartvellei is described for the first time.Notes of the specimens of Chonopeltis recorded from the Ue 16 and Okavango Rivers are given and it is shown that neither can be satisfactorily identified at present.Keys to the species of Chonopeltis are given.Some recently established diat ribution records of parasitic crustaceans of African freshwater fishes are listed.

On the morphology ofNeogyrodactylus indicusn.g., n.sp., a viviparous monogenetic trematode (fam. Gyrodactylidae) fromArgulus indicusWeber

During an examination of fishes for the parasitic crustaceans, fourteen specimens ofArgulusbelonging to two different species, viz.A. indicusWeber, 1892 (eight specimens) andA. siamensisWilson, 1926 (six specimens) were collected from the fish,Ophiocephalus maruliusHamilton, taken from a canal in the environs of the village Champahati, District 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Out of seven fishes so obtained only three were found to be infected with the copepod parasites. While examining these copepods, the attention of the writer was drawn to a viviparous monogenetic trematode infecting only one species ofArgulus, viz.A. indicus. It was rather unfortunate that the piscine host could not be examined at that stage for the helminthic infection. About one hundred specimens of this trematode were collected from the ventral surfaces of the copepods.

A REPORT ON THE PARASITIC COPEPODA AND BRANCHIURA OF THE FISHES OF LAKE NYASA

SUMMARYAn account is given of the parasitic Copepoda and Branchiura of the fishes of Lake Nyasa.At least thirteen species of parasitic Copepoda and four species of Branchiura are now known from the lake, four of the copepods and one of the branchiurans being described as new in the present paper. Two of the copepods have been assigned to new genera.Of the recorded species nine copepods and two branchiurans are so far known only from L. Nyasa.Notes on the structure, habits, host preferences, and development of several species are given, and quantitative data on the incidence of Lernaea bagri on Bagrus meridionalis are analysed. The larval stages of Afrolernaea longicollis gen. et sp. n. are described, and an account of the structure and behaviour of the larva of Chonopeltis inermis is given for the first time.The extra‐Nyasan distribution of some of the non‐endemic species throws light on the possible migrations of the fishes serving as hosts and suggests former connections across the watersheds of several lake and river systems which are today isolated from one another. This information supports and supplements that already deduced from the distribution of fishes.A species flock of parasitic copepods of the genus Lernaea exists in L. Nyasa. The relationships of the various species are obscured by the specialized and degenerate characteristics associated with the parasitic mode of life but it is possible to point out certain affinities and to correlate to some extent the divergent evolution of certain species with the adaptive radiation of certain genera of cichlid fishes.The possible implications of the rich parasitic crustacean fauna of the lake on fish culture are briefly mentioned.

Chemical and Histological Observations on the Influence of Schistosoma mansoni Infection on Australorbis glabratus

Very little is known about the influence of parasites on the chemical composition and metabolism of invertebrate hosts. The only thoroughly studied cases concern parasites of decapod crustaceans. These investigations have revealed disturbances in the fat and carbohydrate storage in the body of the host, as well as changes in the ratios between inorganic substances and proteins in the latter's blood (Robson, 1911 ; Smith, 1913; Drilhon, 1936, 1937; Reinhard and von Brand, 1944). It appeared desirable, therefore, to undertake a comparable investigation on snails parasitized by the developmental stages of trematodes since such snails may have changed chemical composition and metabolism and therefore may react differently than non-parasitized specimens to chemical substances used as molluscacides in control measures. In the present paper the question will be examined as to whether the fat and polysaccharide content, and the oxygen consumption, of Australorbis glabratus parasitized by Schistosoma mansoni differ from those of non-parasitized specimens.

THE FOOD OF THE WHITEFISH COREGONUS CLUPEAFORMIS (MITCHILL) IN ONTARIO WATERS, WITH A NOTE ON THE PARASITES

A study of the food of whitefish from various localities shows that the whitefish is a bottom feeder, showing little selectivity, accepting the most abundant animal food in the locality. The diet for the first five years in one locality included considerable amounts of plankton. Whitefish eat little on the spawning migration but feed to some extent at least, during the winter.Ninety-five per cent of whitefish examined were parasitized by large numbers of the tape worms Cyathocephalus americanus or Ichthyotaenia laruei. A similar number were parasitized by a species of Echinorhynchus. Nematode parasites were found in fewer specimens and in smaller numbers. Crustacean parasites were comparatively rare.

Crustacean parasites of West Indian fishes and land crabs, with descriptions of new genera and species

Crustacean parasites of West Indian fishes and land crabs, with descriptions of new genera and species

A Remarkable Crustacean Parasite, and its Bearing on the Phylogeny of the Ento-mostraca

ABSTRACT In a decalcified specimen of Bathyactis symmetrica, dredged on the expedition of H.M.S. “Challenger” from a depth of 2300 fathoms (Lat. 35°41’ N., Long. 157°42’ E., Station 241), I was fortunate enough to meet with the remarkable parasite for which I propose the name of Petrarca bathyactidis, gen. et sp. n. Its morphological interest, and the improbability that further material will be obtained for some time, are justification sufficient for the presentation of an account which is unavoidably incomplete, owing to the minuteness of the animal and to the fact that only three specimens have been at my disposal.

On a Crustacean Parasite of Nereis Cultrifera, Grube

ABSTRACT Crustacean parasites (Ectozoa) of the Annelids would not appear to be very common; but this may arise in some measure from their having been overlooked, rather than from their actual rarity. So far as I at present am aware, Dr. H. Kröyer is the only author who has described such a parasite upon an Annelid (‘Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift,’ 1864, p. 403, Tab. 18, f. 6, a—g). This species,Silenium polynoes, Kröyer, he found on an example of Polynoë cirrata,O. Fabricius, (the well-known and widely distribute Harmothoë imbricata, Lin.). In Sileniumpolynoes the body of the female is in the form of a simple saccate mass, with a petiolate process for attachment, and furnished with two flask-shaped ovaries at the posterior extremity. There are neither antennæ, rostrum, nor feet. The male, again, is much more minute, though more complex in organisation, for the produced anterior region of the cephalothorax is supplied with four pairs of feet, and the caudal process is triarticulate and setose. Dr. Baird also mentioned to me that he had seen a Small crustacean parasite attached to a foreign Lepidonotus, while examining the collections in the British Museum.

Scientific Serials

THE January number (N.S., No. 37) of the Quarterly Journal of Microscopic Science opens with an article entitled “Notes on Sponges,” by Prof. E. Perceval Wright. In this the author indicates some peculiarities of the structure of the sponge-body of Hyalonema mirabilis, and describes two new species of deep sea spenges, namely Aphrocallistes Bocagei, which is exquisitelyfigured by Mr. Ford, and the type of a new genus which the author names Wyvillethomsonia Wallichii. We cannot help protesting against this new generic name, as being barbarous in the highest degree. Mr. William Archer, of Dublin, continues his valuable description of new or imperfectly-known fresh-water Rhizöpoda, and Mr. W. S. Kent describes and figures a curious new form of Plyzoöpoda, from the Victoria Docks, whre the animal lives attached to the surface of specimens of the Cordylophora lacustris. For this Polyzoön, which the author regards as the type of a new family (Homodiatida) of the Ctenostomata, he proposes the name of Victorella pavida. A singular crustacean parasite found on Nereis cultrifera is desenbed and figured by Dr. W. C. McIntosh. Besides these, we have a paper on the distribution of nerves to the vessels of the connective tissue in the hilus of the pig's kidney, and on the ganglia connected with hese nerves, by Dr. James Tyson, of Philadelphia; an abstract of a dissertation on the minute structure of the human umbilical cord by Dr. Köster; a translation of Dr. E. Van Beneden's description of his Gregarina gigantea (with a plate); and an abstract of an important memoir, by Dr. Kowalewsky, on the reationship of Ascidians and Vertebrates. The only original article on the microscope itself is one by Dr. G. W. Royston-Pigott, on certain imperfections and tests of object-glasses. This number also contains a review of Mr. Hincks's “History, of British Hydroid Zoophytes.”