Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Summer 2012

Publication Title

Florida Scientist

Keywords

Natural mortality, Pelagic elasmobranch, Mesopelagic teleost, Internal parasite taxa, Protocol revisions

ISSN

0098-4590

Volume

75

Issue/No.

3

First Page

209

Last Page

221

Abstract

Natural mortality is a poorly known aspect of fisheries biology, despite its importance in stock assessments and population analysis. Of potential sources of mortality and morbidity in fishes, the effect of internal parasites is perhaps the least studied even though these organisms are known to inhibit nutrient uptake and stimulate an inflammatory response in fish. Parasite taxa of the pelagic elasmobranchs silky and night sharks and pelagic stingray (Carcharhinus falciformis, C. signatus and Pteroplatytrygon violacea), and the mesopelagic teleosts sailfin lancetfish, oilfish, snake mackerel, escolar and Atlantic pomfret (Alepisaurus ferox, Ruvettus pretiosus, Gempylus serpens, Lepidocybium flavobrunneum, and Brama brama) are described from the western North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Parasite taxa included cestodes, trematodes, acanthocephalans, and nematodes. Suggested protocol revisions to current accepted laboratory methods will enhance future parasite taxa descriptions from pelagic marine fishes. This work serves as the first parasite taxa and load descriptions for pelagic stingray, lancetfish, oilfish, snake mackerel, escolar and pomfret.

Comments

©Florida Academy of Sciences. 2012

Additional Comments

Nova Southeastern University Presidential Faculty and Research grant #: 335494

ORCID ID

0000-0002-4440-8767

ResearcherID

I-5396-2012

Peer Reviewed

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