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Anisakids (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from stomachs of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) on St. Paul Island, Alaska: parasitological and pathological analysis

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Abstract

Anisakid nematodes parasitize the alimentary tracts of aquatic vertebrates, including northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) (NFS). The main purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence, intensity, and species composition of anisakids in NFSs on St. Paul Island, Alaska, and to analyze changes in NFS infection with these nematodes during the last decades. The study was carried out on St. Paul Island, Alaska, in July–August 2011–2013. Stomachs of 443 humanely harvested NFS males were collected from five separate haul-out areas. A total of 4,460 anisakid specimens were collected and identified by morphological criteria. Gross and histological examinations of stomachs were also performed. The overall prevalence of NFS infection was 91.2 %; overall mean intensity 10.9, and overall median intensity 6. Five species, Anisakis simplex s. l., Contracaecum osculatum s. l., Pseudoterranova decipiens s. l., P. azarazi and Phocascaris cystophorae, were found. The prevalence of Anisakis was 46.5 %, its intensity 7.5. The prevalence and intensity of Contracaecum, Pseudoterranova, and Phocascaris were 33.6 % and 3.5, 81.9 % and 6.5, and 5.2 % and 1.7, respectively. Significant differences in the prevalence of NFS infection were observed between separate haul-outs. Comparison of the present data with the results of studies performed in the North Pacific in the 1960s, showed a significant decrease in the intensity of NFS infection with anisakids during the last decades. The prevalence of mucosal lesions in NFS stomachs caused by anisakids also decreased from 92 to 20.9 %. Possible reasons for the changes in NFS infection with anisakids are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The investigation (Paper No. 14-14-034) is approved by the director of the University of Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. The research was done under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Permit Number 14327 issued to the National Marine Mammal Laboratory. The authors thank Dr. Igor Dzeverin (Institute of Zoology NAS of Ukraine) for his consultations in statistically processing the results, Dr. Yuriy Kuzmin (Institute of Zoology NAS of Ukraine) for his help with image preparation, and Dr. Kerstin Junker (ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, South Africa) for her valuable help in editing the manuscript. The images of helminths were made at the Center of Collective use of Scientific Equipment “Animalia” (Institute of Zoology NAS of Ukraine). The authors thank Drs. Michael Williams and Tom Gelatt (NOAA) and the St. Paul Tribal government for allowing collection of stomachs and intestinal tracts from the NFSs and the use of their field laboratory for parasitological studies.

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  1. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology NAS of Ukraine, 15, Bogdana Khmelnytskogo street, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine

    T. A. Kuzmina

  2. Department of Veterinary Science Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546-0099, USA

    E. T. Lyons

  3. Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA

    T. R. Spraker

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  1. T. A. Kuzmina
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Kuzmina, T.A., Lyons, E.T. & Spraker, T.R. Anisakids (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from stomachs of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) on St. Paul Island, Alaska: parasitological and pathological analysis. Parasitol Res 113, 4463–4470 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4131-2

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