Metazoan endoparasite fauna and feeding ecology of commercial fishes from Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Despite being an important component of the marine ecosystem and posing health risks to human seafood consumers, fish parasites in Indonesia have yet to be adequately described. Here, we analyzed the diet and metazoan parasite fauna of seven commercial fish species (Alectis indica, Carangoides chrysophrys, Johnius borneensis, Mene maculata, Trichiurus lepturus, Upeneus asymmetricus, U. moluccensis) landed in Java, Indonesia. We isolated 11 endoparasite species, established 22 new host and 14 new locality records, and extended parasitological records of A. indica by 24%, C. chrysophrys by 25%, J. borneensis by 40%, M. maculata by 44%, U. asymmetricus by 100%, and U. moluccensis by 17%. We genetically identified the trematode Stephanostomum cf. uku (of Bray et al. 2005) from Alecta indica for the first time in Indonesia and provided the sequence of its 28S marker. Stomach content analysis revealed seven different prey items, and the examined fish species were grouped into four feeding categories, which differed significantly in their respective endoparasite fauna. All but two examined fish species hosted potentially zoonotic nematodes, which reveal a risk for parasite-borne diseases in Indonesian food fishes and call for more consequent monitoring with regard to seafood safety in this region. With this study, we were able to establish an association between the feeding ecology and the endoparasite fauna of marine fishes which will help to better understand the transmission pathways of (potentially zoonotic) parasites in food fishes in tropical waters.

Helminthic parasites of invasive alien fish hosts in Marikina River system, Philippines: Revealing new parasite hosts and species records

“…Then, if the two aforementioned lters matches together it results to a successful parasite-host co-existence. For instance, host's diet has a signi cant role in the abundance and richness of parasites in shes [40]. Omnivorous and carnivorous shes such as those from the family Clariidae and Channidae respectively are more prone to infection because they consume mainly invertebrates and shes which are commonly an intermediate host of some infective larval stage parasite [48,58].…”

“…Omnivorous and carnivorous shes such as those from the family Clariidae and Channidae respectively are more prone to infection because they consume mainly invertebrates and shes which are commonly an intermediate host of some infective larval stage parasite [48,58]. While, herbivorous shes such as those from the family Loricaridae are less prone to infection because they mainly eat algae and plants [40].…”

Deciphering the impact of endoparasitic infection on immune response and gut microbial composition of Channa punctata

“…Infections are caused by several protozoan and helminth species, of varying severity and importance. Metazoan endoparasite infections (nematode, cestode and digenean) are very in commercial fish species, viz ., Thunnus albacares ( Yuasa et al., 2007 ) Alectis indica , Carangoides chrysophrys , Johnius borneensis , Mene maculata , Trichiurus lepturus , Upeneus asymmetricus , U. moluccensis ( Koepper et al., 2022 ); Schizothorax species ( Farooq et al., 2016 ); Oreochromis niloticus and Clarias gariepinus ( Edeh and Solomon, 2016 ); Clarias gariepenus ( Osimen and Anagha, 2021 ) and Monopterus albus ( Bakti et al., 2020 ). However, these infections can be asymptomatic and cause mild infection and/or weight loss in fish ( Koepper et al., 2022 ).…”

Article Review: Identifications and Geographic Distribution of Six Anisakis Species (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in Indonesia

“…Helminth parasites from the digenean and nematode groups are more commonly found inside the body (endoparasites) in Teleostei fish, while the monogenean group is located outside of the fish body (ectoparasites) (Chambers et al, 2001;Cribb et al, 2002). Nematodes are a group of parasites most commonly found in marine fish which are found in internal organs (body cavity, gonads, heart, intestines, liver, mesentery, pylorus caeca, stomach, and swim bladder) and gill cavities; however, they are not found in fish fillets or meat (Koepper et al, 2022).…”