Description: This study explores non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) as a tool for investigating parasites as indicators of the elasmobranch biology. An attractive feature of nMDS is its ability to allow assemblage-level parasite data to be simultaneously applied to questions of host biology. This method was examined using the tapeworm order Trypanorhyncha Diesing, 1863, which is known to be transmitted among their hosts through the marine food web (via predation), can unambiguously be identified in the intermediate and final hosts, and has the potential as an indicator of the host feeding biology. Our analyses focused on trypanorhynch assemblages in elasmobranchs as definitive hosts. The relationships between trypanorhynch assemblages and the depth, feeding ecology, habitat, and phylogeny for all sharks were complex, but we found that depth distribution, diet composition and habitat type were the major influencing factors. Several species of sharks showed different characters than known from their descriptions that could be attributed to the change of shark behavior or the trypanorhynch host path. The relationship between the trypanorhynch assemblage and factors for carcharhiniform species alone was more robust than for all sharks. In the carcharhiniform analysis, the relationship between habitat type and trypanorhynch assemblage was most remarkable. Overlapping host ecology was evident even in phylogenetically-distant related hosts.

Description: Investigations on the occurrence of trichodinid ciliates from fish caught in the Kiel Bight and Kiel Fjord (western Baltic Sea) were carried out between September 1996 and March 1997. Smears of the gills, fins, and skin of 120 Gadus morhua and 92 Platichthys flesus caught by fish traps and trammel nets revealed the presence of trichodinid ciliates. According to the fish species and locality, different prevalences and densities of trichodinid ciliates were found. Fish caught in the Kiel Bight revealed a lower prevalence of trichodinid ciliates on their gills (P. flesus 74.2%, G. morhua 3.8%) in comparison with fish of the same species and size caught in the Kiel Fjord (P. flesus 75.0%, G. morhua 26.2%). In both areas, P. flesus was more heavily infested than G. morhua. Seasonal changes in the prevalence of infestation of P. flesus between autumn and winter in the Kiel Fjord are proposed to be linked to an increase in bacterial biomass during winter. The fish ecology in combination with the total number of bacteria in the fish environment is discussed as an important factor influencing the abundance of trichodinid ciliates. The present data suggest the use of trichodinid ciliates as an indicator for eutrophication in brackish-water environments.

Description: Blue mussels (Bivalvia) potentially accumulate Vibrio spp. and can transfer these ­pathogens into the consumer. Earlier studies dealt with the existence of V. para­haemolyticus in natural environments but no examinations under laboratory con­ditions exist on the influence of temperature onto accumulation and persistence in blue mussels under low salinity environments. The aim of this study was to design a reliable and practicable methodology to examine the presence of V. parahaemo­lyticus in blue mussels from the Baltic Sea and possibilities for decontamination. A static design was chosen, estimating the influence of temperature onto contami­nation and clearance kinetics. Blue mussels accumulated a similar amount of V. parahaemolyticus during 24 h with no significant difference at the chosen temperatures of 5, 10 and 20 °C. After transfer into clearance tanks, the numbers of bacteria ­decreased in all mussels for 72 h, but the amounts differed significantly between 5 °C to 10 °C and 10 °C to 20 °C. Highest reduction from initial 4.84x107 cfu/mg to 1.16x105 cfu/mg (72 h) was observed at 10 °C (about 0.2 % of initial value). The Baltic Sea offers opportunities for blue mussel production, especially in the context of ­Integrated Multi Trophic Aquaculture to reduce environmental impact of fish aquaculture. In the case of mussel infection, a clearance bath for 72 h under 10 °C can prevent possible transfer of V. parahaemolyticus into the consumer.

Description: The present study provides further data on the occurrence of Pseudoterranova decipiens in fish from two different sampling sites in the Antarctic. A total of 690 fish belonging to 33 species from the eastern Weddell Sea and 322 fish belonging to 12 species from the South Shetland Islands were examined. Altogether, 23 fish species were found to be infested and 11 new host records could be established. P. decipiens occurred at a water depth of between 80 and 820 m. Chaenocephalus aceratus and Notothenia coriiceps from the South Shetland Islands were the species with the highest prevalence (95%) and intensity (2-194 and 1-121, respectively) of infestation. Both are transport hosts, which mainly feed on benthic nototheniid fish species and accumulate the nematodes. Bathypelagic, pelagic, or mainly euphausid feeding fish species were only lightly infested, if at all. This demonstrates the benthic life cycle of P. decipiens in the Antarctic. The preferred site of infestation was the body cavity and the liver; no specimen could be isolated from the fish musculature. This might be explained by the low water temperatures. The infestation of fish from the Weddell Sea was distinctly lower than that of fish around the South Shetland Islands. Besides possible differences in final host populations at the two localities studied, the loss of eggs and larvae under the eastern Weddell Sea shelf ice and over the continental slope and differences in the availability of the first intermediate and macroinvertebrate hosts led to a lower level of infestation. Another role, although nondecisive, may be played by the reduced time of development and infectivity of eggs and larvae, respectively, in the extremely cold waters of the Weddell Sea. P. decipiens is not a rare but, rather a well-established parasite of the Antarctic fauna, which demonstrates the ability of this cosmopolitan species to complete its life cycle even under conditions of subzero temperatures.

Description: Fifty specimens of Notothenia coriiceps caught in Potter Cove, King George Island, were examined for ecto- and endoparasites. Of the 22 parasite species found, 18 were helminths, 2 were hirudineans and 2 were crustaceans. The isopod Aega antarctica and an unidentified hirudinean are reported for the first time from this fish host. Dominant parasites were the adults of Aspersentis megarhynchus, the invasive stage of Corynosoma spp. (cystacanth) and the adults of Macvicaria pennelli, with respective prevalences of infestation of 94, 76 and 74%. The preferred sites of infestation were the pylorus and intestine, where five different larval (nematodes and cestodes) and eight adult (digeneans and acanthocephalans) parasite species were found. No adult nematodes and cestodes were found and no parasites could be isolated from the musculature. The results of the present study are related to previous findings on the parasite fauna of N. coriiceps. The comparison implies a high parasite diversity in this benthic Antarctic fish species. Most parasites found appear to have a wide range of distribution within Antarctic waters together with a low host specificity. Besides its role as final host for several species of trematodes and acanthocephalans, N. coriiceps serves as transmitter of parasite larvae to piscivorous birds and seals. It is concluded that the parasite fauna in Antarctic fish species provides important insights into the different habitat use and trophic relationship of their fish hosts.