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Ecology of the Atlantic black skipjack Euthynnus alletteratus (Osteichthyes: Scombridae) in the western Mediterranean Sea inferred by parasitological analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2016

SALVATORE MELE*
Affiliation:
Parassitologia e Malattie Parassitarie, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
M. GRAZIA PENNINO
Affiliation:
Statistical Modeling Ecology Group (SMEG), Departament de Estadística i Investigació Operativa, Universitat de València, C/ Doctor Moliner 50, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
M. CRISTINA PIRAS
Affiliation:
Parassitologia e Malattie Parassitarie, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
DAVID MACÍAS
Affiliation:
Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Puerto Pesquero s/n, 29640 Fuengirola, Spain
M. JOSÉ GÓMEZ-VIVES
Affiliation:
Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Puerto Pesquero s/n, 29640 Fuengirola, Spain
FRANCISCO ALEMANY
Affiliation:
Centre Oceanogràfic de les Balears, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Moll de Ponent s/n, 07015 Palma, Spain
FRANCISCO E. MONTERO
Affiliation:
Unidad de Zoología Marina, Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Parc Científic, Universitat de València, C/ Catedrático José Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
GIOVANNI GARIPPA
Affiliation:
Parassitologia e Malattie Parassitarie, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
PAOLO MERELLA
Affiliation:
Parassitologia e Malattie Parassitarie, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
*
*Corresponding author: Parassitologia e Malattie Parassitarie, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy. Tel: 0039 079 229 456. Fax: 0039 079 229 464. E-mail: smele@uniss.it

Summary

Between 2008 and 2011, the head of 150 Euthynnus alletteratus (Osteichthyes: Scombridae) caught inshore off the southeastern Iberian coast (western Mediterranean Sea) were examined for parasites. Two monogeneans, four didymozoid trematodes and four copepods were found. Parasite abundance showed a positive relationship with the annual sea surface temperature, except for Pseudocycnus appendiculatus, but negative with the sea depth (Capsala manteri, Neonematobothrium cf. kawakawa and Caligus bonito). Prevalences and mean abundances differed significantly among sampling areas, except for C. manteri, Oesophagocystis sp. 2 and Ceratocolax euthynni, and sampling years (Melanocystis cf. kawakawa, N.cf. kawakawa, P. appendiculatus and Unicolax collateralis). Results indicate that the parasite abundances of E. alletteratus in the western Mediterranean Sea depend mainly on regional environmental variables, which can show interannual variations. The presence of pelagic parasites, i.e. didymozoids and P. appendiculatus, could indicate that E. alletteratus migrates between inshore and offshore pelagic domains. The different parasite faunas reported in E. alletteratus populations from the western Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea appear to point out the geographical host isolation. These results suggest that E. alletteratus inhabiting the western Mediterranean Sea performs inshore-offshore small-scale migrations, and not transoceanic migrations between the western Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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