Parasite Fauna of the Dusky Grouper (<i>Epinephelus marginatus,</i> Lowe 1834) from the Central Mediterranean Sea

oleh: Giovanni De Benedetto, Francesca Arfuso, Maria Catena Ferrara, Emanuele Brianti, Gabriella Gaglio

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-08-01

Deskripsi

This study aimed to investigate parasite fauna of <i>E. marginatus</i> from the central Mediterranean Sea between Messina and Syracuse. In the present survey; parasite fauna of dusky grouper was investigated for two main reasons: the economic value of this species and the current lack of studies regarding the capture area. Seventy dusky groupers were caught from May 2018 to February 2020. Forty-seven out of the 70 specimens (67.2%) were infected with one or more parasite species. The most abundant species was <i>Prosorhynchus caudovatus</i> (42.9%), followed by <i>Podocotyle temensis</i> (28.6%), <i>Didymodiclinus</i> sp. (18.6%), <i>Philometra jordanoi</i> (5.7%), <i>Anisakis</i> Type II larvae (5.7%). Higher prevalence of infection of <i>P. jordanoi</i> and <i>Contracaecum</i> sp. was found in warm months (March to September), while <i>P. caudovatus</i> and <i>P. temensis</i> were mostly found during cold months. Weight and total length of <i>E. marginatus</i> were positively correlated with the parasitic load of <i>P. jordanoi</i> and <i>Didymodiclinus</i> sp. The different prevalence of parasite infection found between warm and cold months is probably related to the diet of the dusky grouper; which is characterized by mollusks that are intermediate hosts for parasite species found. None of the parasites found in the present survey is responsible for zoonosis