Parasites of flounder (Platichthys flesus L.) from the German Bight, North Sea, and their potential use in biological effects monitoring

Abstract

In the frame of an integrated biological effect monitoring programme, the parasite community of flounder (Platichthys flesus) was investigated at different locations in the German Bight from 1995 to 2000. In order to assess the impact of environmental contamination caused by anthropogenic activities on the parasite community, selected parasitological parameters that displayed significant differences between the sampling sites were subjected to correlation analyses with site-specific contamination and individual pollution loads of their fish hosts. In addition, correlation analyses were conducted with the responses of selected genetic, biochemical, histopathological, physiological and immunological parameters of fish, used as potential biomarkers. In total, 802 flounder were analysed for these parameters. Information on the chemical background at the sampling sites was derived from sediment samples and from 120 samples of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) tissue, collected at each of the sampling sites. Based on chemical data available from the sediment and blue mussel samples, a pollution gradient could be established between the sampling sites for individual contaminants. The relative abundance of Acanthochondria cornuta, Cucullanus heterochrous and Zoogonoides viviparus, and the community measures species richness and number of heteroxenous species decreased with increasing concentrations of individual heavy metals or hydrocarbons in sediment and blue mussel samples. Most of the parasitological parameters significantly reflected the established sitespecific contamination gradient, when data were pooled over all sampling campaigns. Significant correlations were also found with the contamination level of individual flounder. The parasitological parameters included the parasite species Lepeophtheirus pectoralis and Lernaeocera branchialis, which were not correlated to sitespecific contamination. Several biomarkers were significantly correlated to the abundance of parasitic copepods A. cornuta, Lernaeocera branchialis and Lepeophtheirus pectoralis and to parasite community parameters. The results showed that the abundance of several metazoan parasite species, species richness and parasite diversity were reduced in contaminated habitats, and that differences between sites were not only related to natural factors, such as salinity, but also to pollution-induced stress. Thus, it can be concluded that the parasite community of fish responds to the level of pollution at a specific site as well as to residues of xenobiotics in individual fish. These findings give indications that the parasite community of fish is a valuable parameter for the assessment of ecological consequences of chemical contamination in aquatic habitats.

Indices for the assessment of environmental pollution of the Baltic Sea coasts: Integrated assessment of a multi-biomarker approach

“…The BAI is based on biomarkers that have been demonstrated to link with alterations at the ecosystem level, the parasite diversity in the individual host (Broeg et al, 1999;Schmidt et al, 2003;Broeg et al, 2005). Routine implementation of the BAI in monitoring programmes enables the detection of toxically induced disorders of organisms' health, and recoveries resulting from remediation measures.…”

Relationship of parasites and pathologies to contaminant body burden in sentinel bivalves: NOAA Status and Trends ‘Mussel Watch’ Program

“…Some focus on particular parasite types (Thulin, 1989); others on broader indicies of parasite species richness and diversity (Schmidt et al, 2003). In this study, the gregarines, the most common parasites in oysters exclusive of the disease-causing P. marinus, were responsible for a large fraction of the relationships with contaminants found in Gulf-coast oysters.…”

“…Wilson et al (1992) and Kim et al (2001) examined the relationship of contaminant body burden to health indices at Gulf of Mexico Mussel Watch sites. Johnson et al (1992) and Schmidt et al (2003) obtained promising results relating sh pathologies to contaminant burdens along the northeast coast of the U.S. and in the North Sea, respectively. The Mussel Watch Program is a unique multi-year study and the rst of its kind that covers a large geographic area, multiple parasite species, and multiple contaminants.…”

Helmintofauna of turbot Scophthalmus maximus (Linnaeus, 1758) from the southern Baltic Sea including new data

“…Environmental factors including anthropogenic pollution are commonly known to affect the parasitic fauna of fresh water as well as marine fish (Khan and Thulin 1991, Mackenzie et al 1995, Dzika and Wyżlic 2007. There are findings showing that water pollution may cause both increased abundance of some parasites with a coexisting decrease or even loss of other parasitic species (Overstreet 1997, Galli et al 2001, Schmidt et al 2003, Sasal et al 2007). Also, environmental changes in the southern Baltic Sea impact upon parasitic fauna diversity and abundance among fish (Sulgostowska 1988, Chibani et al 2001.…”