Travaux du Musum National dHistoire Naturelle Grigore Antipa

Vol. LIV (1)

pp. 6368

30 Juin 2011

DOI: 10.2478/v10191-011-0004-4

INFESTATION OF THE PUMPKINSEED LEPOMIS GIBBOSUS (TELEOSTEI: CENTRARCHIDAE) BY THE COPEPOD LERNAEA CYPRINACEA (CRUSTACEA) SOME ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS
MALA-MARIA STAVRESCU-BEDIVAN, OANA P. POPA, FLORIN T. AIOANEI, LUIS O. POPA
Abstract. The copepod Lernaea cyprinacea Linnaeus, 1758 is known by the large spectrum of fish hosts which it infests, and to which it can cause haemorrhages and ulcerations. The paper focuses on some aspects of the relation between the Pumpkinseed sunfish and this copepod: infestation parameters, preferred attaching situs, relationship between the host size and parasitisation degree, as well as the visible effects of this parasite left on the fish body, in the Moara Domneasc Lake, Romania.
Rsum. Le coppode Lernaea cyprinacea Linnaeus, 1758 est connu pour son grand spectre de poissons quil infeste et auxquels il peut produire des hmorragies ainsi que des ulcrations. Ce travail se concentre sur quelques aspects de la relation entre la perche arc-en-ciel et ce coppode: les paramtres de linfestation, les sites dattachement prfrs, la relation entre les dimensions du poisson et le degr dinfestation par le parasite, ainsi que les effets visibles provoqus par ce parasite sur la surface du corps du poisson provenant du Lac Moara Domneasc (Roumanie).
Key words: infestation, attachment site, Lepomis gibbosus, Lernaea cyprinacea, Moara Domneasc Lake.

INTRODUCTION

The present study was performed in the frame of a project aimed at the evaluation of the diversity of some ectoparasitic metazoans on the prevalent fish species of the lentic ecosystem from Moara Domneasc. The study site is located in the North-East of Bucharest (44 50N, 26 13E, a t an altitude of 90 m), on the right side of national highway Bucharest Constana (Fig. 1). The only water source of the area is Moara Domneasc Lake, belonging to Pasrea lake chain which opens in the Arge River. The Moara Domneasc Lake is used for irrigation of the neighbouring agricultural areas and also for pisciculture.

Lernaea cyprinacea Linnaeus, 1758 (Copepoda: Lernaeidae), called also the anchor worm, is a parasite of freshwater fishes and amphibians tadpoles all over the world. The species is naturally distributed in Europe, Africa, Central Asia, southern regions of West Siberia and is introduced into North and South America and into eastern and western Australia by the importation of tropical fish species. Only the adult female of this lernaeid species is parasitic. It can reach 9 mm long (Tirmizi, 2003). Immature forms of females and males are free swimming. After mating, the male dies and the female looks for a host fish. The parasite fixes on the fish body by an anchoring device which develops under tegument, especially in the muscular tissue. Then, the parasite leaves the fish, dragging bags full of eggs behind. Infestations can lead to injuries which can infect themselves with bacteria or fungi. For the small sized fish specimens, infections can be lethal. Ulcerations hardly heal.

64 MALA-MARIA STAVRESCU-BEDIVAN, OANA P. POPA, FLORIN T. AIOANEI, LUIS O. POPA

Fig. 1 - Moara Domneasc (see the black arrow) location on Google Earth map (14.2 km altitude from the observer visual level).

The literature reports about L. cyprinacea infecting freshwater fish species in Romania are scarce, usually representing veterinary case reports: Boz & Vulpe (1998), Vulpe et al. (2001), Hangan et al. (2008), Patriche et al. (2009).

In this study, in Moara Domneasc Lake, the species was found to infest several host fish species: Carassius auratus , Rutilus rutilus, Pseudorasbora parva and Lepomis gibbosus. We analysed aspects of the infestation with L. cyprinacea in the last mentioned fish species because we had a rather large sample of Pumpkinseed sunfish. L. gibbosus is a fish species with a life cycle of almost eight years.
The genus Lernaea, as a possible parasite for L. gibbosus from Romanian fauna, is mentioned since 1964 by Bnrescu (Gavriloaie & Chi, 2007).

To our knowledge this is the first ecological approach regarding the distribution of this parasite crustacean species on the surface of the host species, in the Romanian fauna.
MATERIAL AND METHODS

The studied fish community was sampled in June 2008 from two sites of the Moara Domneasc Lake, by electrofishing with a Samus 720 MP device (Iorgu et al., 2009). One sample was taken near the USAMV Research Station, Bucharest, and the second one near Moara Domneasc locality, from an area which seemed to be damaged by organic pollution. Both sample stations had similar species composition, with the same prevalent species (Scardinius erythrophthalmus, Rutilus

rutilus, Carassius auratus, Lepomis gibbosus etc.).

We analysed the parasitic fauna of 80 specimens of Pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus), collected as mentioned above. Immediately after sampling, the fish specimens were put in 5% formaldehyde and transported to the laboratory for

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analysis. Here, the parasite specimens were removed and preserved in 1.5 ml centrifuge tubes containing 70% alcohol.
Each fish specimen was studied both at the level of the branchial cavities and at the external surface of their body, head, fins and skin. Information regarding the parasite distribution at the host level was noted in the parasitic topography card. For each fish specimen the total length and the standardised length were measured with a calliper to the nearest 0.1mm. The correlation between the host fish specimens and the corresponding parasite number was studied with the Bravais-Pearson correlation coefficient. The morphological identification of the parasite species was performed according to Bauer (1987). The following infestation parameters were calculated according to Bush et al. (1997): prevalence, mean intensity and mean abundance.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The parasitological study showed that the Pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) was infested by the copepod Lernaea cyprinacea (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 - Lepomis gibbosus: a specimen infested by Lernaea cyprinacea.

The infestation parameters of the host specimens with adult females of L. cyprinacea were prevalence (58.75%), mean intensity 1.66 (min. 1 max. 6) and mean abundance (0.975). The distribution of the parasite on the surface of the host body showed that the 78 parasitic specimens were fixed on the host surface, as follows: head (43.59%), fins (33.33%) and skin (23.08%) (Fig. 3). The bases of the anal, pectoral and dorsal fins were common attachment sites. According to PrezBote (2010), the fins offer the greatest protection from water currents and the tissues near the bases may be easily penetrated by the parasite. We performed a finer scale analysis at the level of the host head, as the most parasitized area, and we observed the following spatial distribution of the parasites at this level: opercular apparatus (58.82%), around the mouth (26.47%), gills (11.76%), around the eyes (2.94%) (Fig. 4).
Several L. gibbosus specimens without L. cyprinacea presented ulcerations on the opercular apparatus and scars at the base of their dorsal fins, caused probably by previous infestations. Similar findings about ulcerations at the site of L.

66 MALA-MARIA STAVRESCU-BEDIVAN, OANA P. POPA, FLORIN T. AIOANEI, LUIS O. POPA

Fig. 3 - Lernaea cyprinacea: adult female distribution on the whole body surface of the host Lepomis gibbosus.

Fig. 4 - Lernaea cyprinacea: adult female distribution on the head region of the host Lepomis gibbosus.

cyprinacea penetration were reported in literature (Berry et al., 1991; Silva-Souza et al., 2000; Hassan et al., 2008; Bednarska et al., 2009; Plaul et al., 2010). We also analysed, from the ecological point of view, the possible link between the size of the host fish and the parasite number. Infestation intensity with L. cyprinacea positively correlates both with the total length of the host bodies (r=0.192) and with their standard length (r=0.188). However, the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between the two variables could not be rejected, as the correlation coefficient (r) value was lower than the tabular value, at the chosen significance level ( = 0.05). The same positive but not significant correlations between host size and fish infections were also reported by Prez-Bote (2000) and Gutirrez-Galindo & LacasaMilln (2005) cited by Prez-Bote (2010). The sampling season may interfere with the estimation of the parasite abundance and prevalence, as the water temperature is related with the reproduction of L. cyprinacea. It is well known that the period from egg to mature adult copepod

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is 1314 days at 2225 C (Al-Hamed & Hermiz, 1973). The life cycle of Lernaea species is completed in fewer days as the water temperature rises (Prez-Bote, 2010). According to Mancini et al. (2006) cited by Prez-Bote (2010), infestation parameters as prevalence and abundance of this parasite has a higher seasonal occurrence during warm months (June in our report), which coincides with blooms of bacteria, which in turns provides food for L. cyprinacea. In this study the copepod Lernaea cyprinacea was found infesting a sample of 80 Pumpkinseed sunfish. Biological material originates in the Moara Domneasc Lake, a sufficiently investigated area from the fauna diversity point of view, an ecosystem of the lentic type. The fixed parasites, especially in the head area, but also at the level of the fins and tegument, left their hosts with obvious signs of ulcerations and necroses. This is the first study regarding the distribution of the parasitic Lernaea cyprinacea on the surface of the body of Lepomis gibbosus in Romania.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was supported by the PN II Research Program SAFAR no. 051-088/2007 allotted to Dr. Viorica Blan. INFESTAREA BIBANULUI-SOARE LEPOMIS GIBBOSUS (TELEOSTEI: CENTRARCHIDAE) CU COPEPODUL LERNAEA CYPRINACEA (CRUSTACEA)

CTEVA ASPECTE ECOLOGICE

REZUMAT Copepodul Lernaea cyprinacea este cunoscut pentru spectrul mare de gazde piscicole pe care le infesteaz i la care poate produce hemoragii i ulceraii.
Lucrarea de fa se concentreaz asupra unor aspecte ale relaiei dintre bibanul-soare i acest copepod: parametrii infestrii, situsurile de ataare preferate, relaia dintre dimensiunile gazdei i gradul de parazitare, precum i efectele vizibile ale acestui parazit lsate pe suprafaa corpului petelui.

LITERATURE CITED AL-HAMED, M., L. HERMIZ, 1973 - Experiments on the control of anchor worm (Lernaea cyprinacea). Aquaculture, 2: 45-51.
BAUER, O. N., 1987 - Opredelitel parazitov presnovodnych ryb fauny SSSR. T. 3. (Guide to the parasites of the freshwater fish fauna of the USSR. Vol. 3. Parasitic Metazoa, Second Part). Nauka, Leningradskoe Otdelenie, 583 pp. (in Russian)

BEDNARSKA, M., M. BEDNARSKI, Z. SOTYSIAK, R. POLECHOSKI, 2009 - Invasion of Lernaea cyprinacea in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Acta Scientiarum Polonorum, Medicina Veterinaria, 8 (4): 27-32. BERRY, C. R., Jr., G. J. BABEY, T. SHRADER, 1991 - Effect of Lernaea cyprinacea (Crustacea: Copepoda) on stocked rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 27 (2): 206-213.
BOZ, E., V. VULPE, 1998 - Observaii privind parazitismul cu Lernaea cyprinacea la petii de cultur. Sesiunea tiinific anual a Facultii de Medicin Veterinar, Iai. (in Romanian)

BUSH, A. O., K. D. LAFFERTY, J. M. LOTZ, A. W. SHOSTACK, 1997 - Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited. The Journal of Parasitology, 83 (4): 575-583.
GAVRILOAIE, I. C., I. E. CHI, 2007 - Consideraii despre originea, rspndirea i situaia actual a speciei Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Pisces, Centrarchidae) n Europa i n Romnia. Brukenthal. Acta Musei, Sibiu, 2 (3): 109-118. (in Romanian)

HANGAN, M., L. D. URDE, C. DIACONESCU, V. PETRIC, 2008 - Efectul patogenic al crustaceelor (Lernaea sp.) asupra petilor dulcicoli crescui n bazine statice, n unele amenajri piscicole din zona Deltei Dunrii. Lucrri tiinifice, Seria Zootehnie, USAMV Iai, vol. 51. (in Romanian)

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HASSAN, M. H., S. J. BEATTY, D. L. MORGAN, R. G. DOUPE, A. J. LYMBERY, 2008 - An introduced parasite, Lernaea cyprinacea L., found on native freshwater fishes in the south west of Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 91: 149-153. IORGU, E. I., O. P. POPA, C. ADAM, C. PRVU, C. BAN-CALEFARIU, D. RUTI, M. STAN, F. AIOANEI, M. STAVRESCU, V. TUDOR, V. BLAN, L. O. POPA, 2009 Agroecosistems fauna diversity and their role in bioconservation a case study: Moara Domneasc experimental centre. P. 87. In: D. Murariu, C. Adam, G. Chiamera, E. Iorgu, L. O. Popa, O. P. Popa, (eds), Annual Zoological Congress of Grigore Antipa Museum Book of abstracts, Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History, Bucharest.
PATRICHE, T., N. PATRICHE, M. TENCIU, 2009 - Cyprinids total blood proteins determination. Lucrri tiinifice, Zootehnie i Biotehnologii, Timioara, 42 (2): 95-101.

PREZ-BOTE, J. L., 2010 - Barbus comizo infestation by Lernaea cyprinacea (Crustacea: Copepoda) in the Guadiana River, southwestern Spain. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 26 (4): 592-595. PLAUL, S. E., N. G. ROMERO, C. G. BARBEITO, 2010 - Distribution of the exotic parasite, Lernaea cyprinacea (Copepoda, Lernaeidae) in Argentina. Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists, 30 (2): 65-73. SILVA-SOUZA, A. T., S. C. ALMEIDA, P. M. MACHADO, 2000 - Effect of the infestation by Lernaea cyprinacea Linnaeus, 1758 (Copepoda, Lernaeidae) on the leucocytes of Schizodon intermedius Garavello & Britski, 1990 (Osteichthyes, Anostomidae). Revista Brasileira de Biologia, 60 (2): 217-220. VULPE, V., O. Z. OPREAN, S. PACA, 2001 - Infestaii cu Lernaea cyprinacea la crap etiopatogenez i leziuni. Lucrri tiinifice, Medicin Veterinar, USAMV Iai, vol. 44. (in Romanian)
TIRMIZI, H., 2003 - "Lernaea cyprinacea" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed August 9, 2010. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Lernaea_cyprinacea

.html. Received: September 3, 2010 Accepted: May 09, 2011

Mala-M. Stavrescu-Bedivan University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine,

Bdv. Mrti No. 59, 011464 Bucharest, Romania e-mail: mala_stavrescu@agro-bucuresti.ro Oana P. Popa, Luis O. Popa "Grigore Antipa" National Museum of Natural History os. Kiseleff No. 1, 011341 Bucharest, Romania e-mails: oppopa@antipa.ro popaluis@antipa.ro Florin. T. Aioanei
University of Bucharest, Splaiul Independeei No. 91-95,

050095 Bucharest, Romania e-mail: aioanei2006@yahoo.com