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- Helminth parasites from the stomach of conger eel, Conger conger, from Madeira Island, Atlantic OceanPublication . Costa, Graça; Santos, Maria J.; Costa, Luísa; Biscoito, Manuel; Carvalho, Miguel Â. A. Pinheiro de; Moreira, Egberto MeloGeographic variations in the diversity and prevalence of helminth parasites of fish can provide important clues as to the relatedness of fish populations. In the present work, the stomachs of 64 conger eels, Conger conger, collected during 1999 and 2000, were examined for the presence of parasites. Four fish were infected with L3 stages of the nematode Anisakis simplex s.l. (Anisakidae), 1 with the nematode Cristitectus congeri (Cystidicolidae), 1 with the acanthocephalan Rhadi norhynchus pristis, 17 with postlarvae of Sphyriocephalus tergestinus (Eucestoda: Trypanorhyncha), and 55 with Lecithochirium spp. (Digenea: Hemiuridae). The hemiurids were the most abundant parasites, with a total of 385 individuals recovered. Strong aggregated distributions were found for both the digeneans, Lecithochirium musculus and Lecithochirium fusiforme, with variance-to-mean ratios (s 2 /x) and index of discrepancy (D) 13.98 and 0.672 (for L. musculus) and 8.08 and 0.90 for L. fusiforme, respectively. Intensity of L. musculus, L. fusiforme, and S. tergestinus showed significant relationships with depth of capture. Differences in number of species and prevalence were found between Madeira and the Atlantic coasts of the Iberian Peninsula.
- Helminth parasites of some coastal fishes from Madeira, PortugalPublication . Costa, Graça; Biscoito, ManuelOne hundred and fifty-one fish belonging to six different species, from Madeira, Atlantic Ocean, were examined for helminth infections. All the fish examined shared the same type of littoral habitat characterized by rocky and sandy bottoms. However their feeding ecology was slightly different resulting in variations in their parasite composition. In the blue damselfish, Abudefduf luridus, which is mostly herbivorous but ingesting also the associated invertebrate fauna, the digeneans dominated, while the Atlantic damselfish, Chromis limbata, which preys on plank tonic and benthic organisms, was infected mainly by anisakid nematodes, larval acanthocephalans and digenean lepocreadids, usually transmitted by planktonic and benthic invertebrates. Similarly in the Turkish wrasse, Thalassoma pavo, pelagically transmitted parasites clearly dominated (Hysterothylacium, Scolex pleuronectis, acanthocephalans). Despite the similarities in both habitat and feeding ecologies of the two sparids, Boops boops and Diplodus vulgaris, some differences were found in their parasite faunas. Both species shared the acanthocephalans and Hysterothylacium sp. but differed in the presence of Meinertia parallela in B. boops and its absence in D. vulgaris.