Asian Pac J Trop Dis 2014; 4(Suppl 1): S268-S272 S268 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apjtd Document heading doi: 10.1016/S2222-1808(14)60453-9 2014 by the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease. All rights reserved. 襃 Isopods parasites infection on commercial fishes of Parangipettai waters, southeast coast of India Palanivel Bharadhirajan*, Sambantham Murugan, Alagarsamy Sakthivel, Periyasamy Selvakumar CAS in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Science, Annamalai University, Parangipettai-608 502, Tamil Nadu-India PEER REVIEW ABSTRACT Peer reviewer Objective: Methods: To examine the effect of six different isopods from five different food fish species. Prof. Dr. Baha Latif, Faculty of The specimens were collected directly from the trawlers landed at Parangipettai coast Medicine, Universiti T,e knologi MARA, during the year of 2012 (January-December). Isopods were removed from the body surface and Sungi Buloh, Selangor Malaysia. buccal cavities of the fish hosts and immediately preserved in 70% ethanol. Data regarding the Tel: +6 017 3145649 pResults:revalence of isopod parasites was calculated and site of attachment. Fax: +6 03 6126 7073 During the study period, 310 fishes were collected and examined for parasites infection, E-mail: [email protected] and it includes five different species. Among the examined fishes, 106 fish were infected among 120 T Comments the total number of collected paraLizasite sparsia. he occurrencThryssae of isop dussumieriod infectio n in all thSardinellae infected 34 19 25 36 albellafishes was . %. The Otolithesoccurren ccuvierie of was %, was %, 17 5 65 In general, it is a good study which Otolithes w acuvieris . % and was %. The mSardinellaaximum ialbellasopoda parasite infected noticed shows the importance of infection of Conclusions: and minimum value was recorded in Nerocila phaeopleura. Liza parsia fishes with isopods in southeast coast This is the new host for the parasite in . Thus of India. The authors investigate the parasitic attack the growth and normal function of the fishes will suffer and lead to economic prevalence of isopods in marine water loss or the marketability may reduce then. In along the lifespan, the host population was may be fishes and the effect of this infection affected by the parasitic outbreak. on the normal growth of the host. KEYWORDS Details on Page S271 Nerocila phaeopleura Food fishes, Isopod parasite, Cymothoids, 1. Introduction impair immature fishes so that they do not survive[6]. Isopod crustaceans are part of the greatest fish ectoparasite group Parasite diseases pose great problem in the culture and and are easy to identify due to their size, morphological captive maintenance of marine water fishes[1]. Among aspects and because they are easily found on the outer marine fish parasites, nearly 25% are crustaceans, mainly part of fish bodies[7]. According to the marine species of represented by copepod, brachiura and isopod[2]. Marine the order, Isopoda are classified into 12 suborders among isopods play an important role in the food web, in particular which the suborder Cymothoida includes 29 families. in removing decaying material from natural or altered Among the families of the suborder Cymothoida, the family environments and they also represent an important factor of Cymothoidae included 43 genera and 358 species[8]. Most of economic unbalance[3]. They occur in marine, estuarine and the fish species are infested by cymothoid isopods position freshwater habitats, especially in the near-shore coastal on the host (buccal, gill, burrowing or external), and general environment[4]. They occur on fish host on the outer body or body shapes have long influenced interpretation of the [9] fins, in the mouth, gill chambers, or nostrils, or occasionally relaNerocilationships of cymothoid genera . in self-made pockets in the flesh of their hosts[5]. Isopods is a large genus of the family Cymothoidae 65 cause significant economic losses to fisheries by killing, including at least Nerocilaspecies lphaeopleuraiving attache dN. o phaeopleuran the skin or, stunting, or damaging these fishes. They can also kill or on the fins of fishes. ( ) *Corresponding author: Palanivel Bharadhirajan, CAS in Marine Biology, Faculty of Article history: Marine Science, Annamalai University, Parangipettai-608 502, Tamil Nadu-India. Received 16 Nov 2013 Tel: 91-9788597210 Received in revised form 25 Nov, 2nd revised form 3 Dec, 3rd revised form 15 Dec 2013 E-mail: [email protected] Accepted 15 Jan 2014 Foundation Project: Supported by MoES project (Ref. No. 36/OOIS/SIBER/07). Available online 28 Jan 2014 Palanivel Bharadhirajan et al./Asian Pac J Trop Dis 2014; 4(Suppl 1): S268-S272 S269 3. Results all the appendages are highly modified to hold the body surface and tearing the body muscles of host fish strongly[10]. As already reported by Bruce NL[11], several species are A total number of 310 fishes were collected and examined morphologically highly variable and their identification for parasites infection. It includes five different food species. 106 is oNerocilaften diff icarmatault. The variNerocilaability w aorbignyis particu lN.arl yorbignyi studied Among the examined fishes, fish were infected among ( ) 120 in Nerocila excisa and Nerocila sundaica Nerocila the total number of collected parasites. The prevalence of [12] [13] [14] ( 1) acuminate, Nerocila arres, Nerocila kisra, N. isopod parasites was calculated Table . The measurements [15] [16] 2 orbignyi Nerocila, monodi , andN. phaeopleura , and of the fish hosts and isopods are shown in Figure . , , and [11]. Several Table 1 P parasitic isopods from araChirocentrusngipettai lik edorab cymothSardinellaoids from Prevalence of isopods parasites in marine food fishes. different food fishes via: , longiceps Sardinella sidensis Sardinella brachysoma Name of host No. of examined No. of infection fish Prevalence (%) L. parsia Dussumieria, acuta Thryssa dussumieri, T. dussumieri , 60 15 25.00 ( ) T. dussumieri , 50 18 36.00 Thryssa mystax Scomberomorus guttatus[17] S. albella and . Further 120 21 17.50 Cymothoa indica O. cuvieri observed an infStrongyluraection by strongylura on the spot 80 52 65.00 tail needlefish [18]. Many works Total 310 106 34.19 have been done on isopods parasites infection potential of different marine fishes whereas no attempt has made of in A B C the case of fishes. Hence, the present study deals with the isopods parasites infection on selected commercial fishes of Parangipettai coastal waters, southeast coast of India 2. Materials and methods F E D T he specimens were collec°ted’ direc°tly’ from the trawlers landed at Parangipettai (Lat 11 29 N; 79 46 E southeast coast of India) from January-December, 2012 (Figure 1). A total of 5 commercial food fishes infected with isopod at Parangipettai G H I landing center. They were brought in the laboratory for further study. Isopods were removed from the body surface and buccal cavities of the fish hosts and immediately preserved in 70% ethanol. The total length of the fish hosts Figure 2. and isopods was measured and all measurements were in The isopods parasites infected in marine fishes at different body millimeters. Mouth parts and appendages were carefully parts. N. phaeopleura L. parsia A B dissected using dissecting needles and forceps. Host and : parasite affeN.cte phaeopleurad in the caudal region of , C E F indicating the infectedS. p albellaart. and :T. dussumieri parasiteCymothoa affected i nbosii the nomenclature and fish taxonomy are according to ish pectoral fin region of and . G and H: [19] Cymothoa crenita O. cuvieri Base . Data regarding the total length, with weight and sex and parasites affected in the gill regions of fish (I) of host fish were recorded. indicate the parasites. The total prevalence of isopod infeLizaction parsia in fou rL. d iparsiafferent Chennai 34 19% T ( ) Bangalore fT.is hdussumieries was . Sardinella. he pre valbellaalence oS.f albella Otolithes, ( ) cuvieri O. cuvieri, and ( ) 25 00% 36 00% 17 50% 65 00% was . , . , . anO.d cuvieri. The maximum isopod parasites infectS.ed albella noticed in and minimum value was recorded in (Table 1). Parangipettai N. phaeopleura The study period was noticed maximum Tamil Nadu S. albella T. dussumieri L. aparsiattached onlCymothoay body surface of , and K erala . TheO. cuvieri sp. was attached by gill and baccual ( 2) Nerocilacavity of fish TCymothoaable . The total of infection sp. was 17.41% and sp. 16.77%. Table 2 The attachments of isopods parasites in marine food fishes. Host Parasites Species Site of attachment Liza parsia N. phaeopleura Body surface (Caudal pedangel) T. dussumieri N. phaeopleura Body surface (Nearby pectoral fin) S. albella N. phaeopleura Palk Skait Body surface (Nearby pectoral fin) O. cuvieri Cymothoa bosii Gill (inside of 1st gill arch) Figure 1. Cymothoa crenita Map shows the study area. Gill, Baccual cavity Palanivel Bharadhirajan et al./Asian Pac J Trop Dis 2014; 4(Suppl 1): S268-S272 S270 4. Discussion are specific in their choice of host, whereas other genera are less specific[33]. In the present study, the maximum affected Nerocila Cymothoa Parasitic isopods are likely the dominant group of was sp. (17.41%) and minimum was sp. Nerocila crustacean ectoparasite of fish in tropical seas[20]. Recently (16.77%). sp. was affected by three different fishes Cymothoa Nerocila the parasites have been recognized as an important and sp. was affected only by one fish. So component of global biodiversity and research efforts sp. was dominated and two genera of parasites could be N. phaeopleura directed and documented towards the parasitic species similarly. which is being host specific, would diversity has increased[21]. Parasites affected fish health, thus seem to fit in with an apparently generic characteristic Sardinella gibbosa growth, behavior, fecundity and mortality and also regulate and it seems reasonable to assume that is host population dynamics and their community structure[22]. the major host of the species in the South China sea.