The occurrence of some metazoan parasites of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua L., in relation to age and sex of the host in Balsfjord (70°N), North Norway

Age and sex differences in the occurrence of some metazoan parasites were investigated in 243 cod (Gadus morhua L.) from Balsfjord, a subarctic fjord in northern Norway. Thirteen species of parasite were studied, comprising seven nematodes, three parasitic copepods, one acanthocephalan, one cestode...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar biology 2000-04, Vol.23 (5), p.368-372
Main Authors: HEMMINGSEN, W, HALVORSEN, O, MACKENZIE, K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acanthocephala
Agnatha. Pisces
Animal and plant ecology
Animal helminthic diseases
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Anisakis simplex
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Cestoda
Cod
Contracaecum
Copepoda
Echinorhynchus gadi
Feeding behavior
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gadus morhua
Helminthic diseases
Hemiurus levinseni
Infectious diseases
Marine
Marine biology
Medical sciences
Metazoa
Nematoda
Nematodes
Parasites
Parasitic diseases
Vertebrata
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Age and sex differences in the occurrence of some metazoan parasites were investigated in 243 cod (Gadus morhua L.) from Balsfjord, a subarctic fjord in northern Norway. Thirteen species of parasite were studied, comprising seven nematodes, three parasitic copepods, one acanthocephalan, one cestode and one digenean. The nematode Anisakis simplex showed significant increases in both prevalence and mean abundance with host age, while the digenean Hemiurus levinseni showed a significant increase in mean abundance with age. The increases probably result from a long parasite life-span for A. simplex and changes in the feeding pattern of cod with age for H. levinseni. Prevalence of the nematode Contracaecum sp. and mean abundance of the acanthocephalan Echinorhynchus gadi were significantly higher in male than in female cod, whereas mean abundance of H. levinseni was significantly higher in female cod. These results suggest that there may be differences in feeding behaviour between male and female cod in Balsfjord.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0722-4060
1432-2056
DOI:10.1007/s003000050457