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Metazoan parasites and feeding behaviour of four small-sized fish species from the central North Sea

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Abstract

The metazoan parasites and stomach contents of the small-sized demersal fishes Agonus cataphractus, Buglossidium luteum, Callionymus lyra and Rhinonemus cimbrius were studied and analysed. The fishes were captured using various sampling gears at 12 stations in the central North Sea. A total of 16 metazoan parasite species were isolated: six adult Digenea, three larval and adult Cestoda, four larval and adult Nematoda and three larval and adult Crustacea. With nine parasites species each, A. cataphractus and R. cimbrius harboured the highest parasite diversity, while B. luteum and C. lyra hosted only six and five parasite species, respectively. Eighteen new hosts and four new locality records were established. No Myxozoa, Monogenea or Acanthocephala were found. Most of the detected parasites showed a wide geographical range and a low host-specificity. The composition of the parasite fauna differed between the fish species, in accordance with their different feeding behaviours. The diet of bentho-pelagic feeders (A. cataphractus, R. cimbrius) was more diverse in comparison with the more specialised benthic feeders (C. lyra, B. luteum). This correlated with the lower diversity of heteroxenic parasites within both small-sized benthic fish species.

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Fig. 1a–d.
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Fig. 3a–d.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. U. Piatkowski and M. Lenz, Institute for Marine Research Kiel, for kindly revising an earlier draft of the manuscript. The scientific staff and the crew of FFK Solea are thanked for their help during the collection of the material.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Pathology Group, Department of Fisheries Biology, Institut für Meereskunde an der Universität Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105, Kiel, Germany

    Sven Klimpel & Annett Seehagen

  2. Institut für Zoomorphologie, Zellbiologie und Parasitologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Sven Klimpel & Harry W. Palm

  3. Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Bogor Agricultural University, Campus IPB Darmaga, 16680, Bogor, Indonesia

    Harry W. Palm

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  1. Sven Klimpel
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  2. Annett Seehagen
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  3. Harry W. Palm
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Correspondence to Sven Klimpel.

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Klimpel, S., Seehagen, A. & Palm, H.W. Metazoan parasites and feeding behaviour of four small-sized fish species from the central North Sea. Parasitol Res 91, 290–297 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-003-0957-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-003-0957-8

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