Metazoan parasites of cetaceans off the northeastern coast of Brazil

Abstract

This study represents the first survey of the parasitic fauna of cetaceans off the northeastern coast of Brazil. Parasites were collected from 82 animals rescued from the states of Ceará to Bahia, including the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. A total of 14 species of cetaceans were evaluated: Sotalia guianensis, Stenella sp., Stenella clymene, Stenella longirostris, Stenella coeruleoalba, Stenella frontalis, Megaptera novaeangliae, Peponocephala electra, Steno bredanensis, Kogia breviceps, Kogia sima, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Tursiops truncatus, Physeter macrocephalus and Lagenodelphis hosei. The parasites were fixed and preserved in 70% ethanol or alcohol-formalin-acetic acid solution (AFA), clarified in phenol and mounted on slides for morphological identification. In total, 11 species and 8 genera of endo- and ectoparasites were identified: Halocercus brasiliensis, Halocercus kleinenbergi, Stenurus globicephalae, Halocercus sp., Anisakis sp., Crassicauda sp. (Nematoda), Phyllobothrium delphini, Monorygma grimaldii, Scolex pleuronectis, Strobicephalus triangularis, Tetrabothrius forsteri, Tetrabothrius sp., Trigonocotyle sp., Diphyllobothrium sp. (Cestoda), Campula sp. (Trematoda), Bolbosoma sp. (Acanthocephala), Cyamus boopis, Syncyamus pseudorcae and Xenobalanus globicipitis (Crustacea). The identification of some species represented novel records for the country and increased the occurrence of some parasites to new hosts. The use of standardized methodologies for collecting and evaluating a larger number of animals is essential for a better understanding of host-parasite relationships in cetaceans and their use as biological indicators in the region.

Survey on the Presence of Nematodes and Associated with Pathology in Marine Mammals from Turkish Waters

“…Numerous parasitological studies have been carried out on marine mammals [10][11][12][13][14] but few were reported on parasites of marine mammals from Turkish waters [4,5] . Anisakis spp., Contraceacum spp.…”

“…However, this species was found from striped dolphins in Turkish Eastern Mediterranean Sea coast [4] . Pulmonary nematodes belonging to the genus Halocercus were one of the most prevalent [13] . Three species of Halocercus have been reported in harbour porpoises, H. invaginatus, H. taurica and H. kirbyi [15] .…”

“…The bacterial mixed infection case was showed concurrency with previous studies [25,26] . The identification of the parasitic fauna of cetaceans not only contributes to a better understanding of the causes of stranding and mortality, but also provides valuable information on the biology and ecology of cetaceans [13] . Additionally, parasites could be used as biological tags of marine mammal populations, as indicators of migration and feeding, as a means of separating intraspecific variation of inshore and off-shore populations, as indicators of general state of health, and as an aid in assessing mortality [27] .…”

Report of the Working Group on Taxonomy and Stock Identity of bottlenose dolphins in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean

“…In addition to Crassicauda, a few other parasites have been reported for bottlenose dolphins in Brazilian waters (Carvalho et al, 2010;Luque et al, 2010; see also Laporta et al, 2016 Report on Biology and Ecology, this volume), although they were not tested for stock identification purposes.…”

Ontogenetic development and redescription of the whale louse Cyamus boopis Lütken, 1870 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Cyamidae), ectoparasite of humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae (Mammalia: Cetacea: Balaenopteridae)

“…Among the ectoparasites, crustaceans are the only representatives, including copepods, that parasitise baleen plates and a single amphipod family-Cyamidae, commonly known as whale louse-that can be found in cetaceans of the two superfamilies, Mysticeti (the baleen whales) and Odontoceti (the toothed whales and dolphins) (Lincoln and Hurley 1980;Martin and Heyning 1999;Rohde 2005). Cyamids are considered generalists on odontocetes and host-specific on mysticetes (Leung 1970;Geraci and Aubin 1987;Carvalho et al 2010). However, some species of mysticetes host more than one species of cyamid parasites (Leung 1967;Rowntree 1983;Kaliszewska et al 2005).…”