TITLE:
Metazoan Parasites of the Mediterranean Garfish Belone belone gracilis (Teleostei: Belonidae) as a Tool for Stock Discrimination
AUTHORS:
Manel Châari, Mariam Feki, Lassâd Neifar
KEYWORDS:
Belone belone gracilis, Metazoan Parasites, Stock Discrimination, Tunisian Coast, Mediterranean Sea
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Marine Science,
Vol.5 No.3,
July
29,
2015
ABSTRACT: The aim of the present
study was to provide a current survey of metazoan parasites of the
Mediterranean garfish Belone
belone gracilis Lowe, 1839 off Tunisian coast and their potential
use as biological tags for discriminate stocks. Parasitological analysis of 453
specimens of B. b. gracilis along the eastern Tunisian coast
revealed the presence of ten species of metazoan parasites: one monogenean Axine belones Abildgaard, 1794; four digeneansLecithostaphylus
retroflexus (Molin, 1859), Tergestia acanthocephala (Stossich, 1887) Stossich, 1899, Aponurus laguncula Looss, 1907 and Condylocotyla pilodora(metacercaria) Pearson et Prévot, 1985; one copepod Bomolochus bellonesBurmeister,
1835; two isopods Irona nana Schioedte et Meinert, 1884 andNerocila
orbignyi (Guérin-Méneville,
1832); 1 acanthocephalan Telosentis
exiguus (Von Linstow, 1901)
and one nematod Anisakid larvae. Discriminant analysis using parasites as
biological tags, allowed identifying two stocks ofB. b. gracilis.
Digenea L. retroflexus, A. laguncula and Anisakid larvae were the most
important species in determining the position of sampled fishes from the
central coast off Tunisia. Metacercaria C.
pilodora characterized
specimens from the Southern coast off Tunisia. These results were corroborated
by comparing parameters of prevalence and mean abundance between zones.
Discriminant analysis used for the separation of B. b. gracilis between seasons in both localities
showed that a seasonal variation affected mainly specimens from the center
suggesting seasonal move of fishes.