Site specificity - not everything is everywhere - case of gill ectoparasites of European eel Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) (Park National of El Kala, Algeria)

• Main Authors: TAHRI, Mardja, BENSAÂD-BENDJEDID, Lamia, DAHEL, Amina, DJEBBARI, Nawel, NOUARA, Nadir, BENSOUILAH, Mourad
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR) 2018
• Subjects: Anguilla anguilla; European eel
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.21411/cbm.a.df23e561; http://application.sb-roscoff.fr/cbm/doi/10.21411/CBM.A.DF23E561

This work describes the ectoparasitic fauna -with a special focus to their microhabitat - of the European eel. During a three year study, 450 Anguilla anguilla gill infracommunities were studied in lake Oubeïra (NE of Algeria) to determine whether parasite infrapopulations interact. Three levels were retained: the epidemiological trends, the preference of species on gills, different arches and niche breadth/niche overlap between species. Two crustaceans: Ergasilus gibbus (6199), Argulus foliaceus (180) and one monogenean Pseudodactylogyrus sp. (495) were found. All species exhibited microhabitat preference for II and III gill-arches but no preference for either side of the fish. In addition, Argulus foliaceus showed niche restriction that is probably due to gregarious behavior of Pseudodactylogyrus sp. Lastly, the use of principal component analysis reveals the affinity of Ergasilus gibbus and Pseudodactylogyrus sp. for the largest host contrary to Argulus foliaceus.