The Helminth Fauna of the Common Seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina, Linné, 1758) from the Wadden Sea in Lower Saxony Part 1: Trematodes, cestodes and acantocephala

Abstract

Between August 1988 and January 1989 110 common seals found dead along the coast of Lower Saxony were investigated for the occurrence of trematodes, cestodes and acantocephala. Two fluke species, Cryptocotyle lingua CREPLIN, 1825 and Phagicola septentrionalis VAN DEN BROEK, 1967, two tapeworm species Diphyllobothriurn cordatum LEUCKART, 1863 and Diphyllobothriurn elegans KRABBE, 1865, and the acanthocephala species Corynosoma strumosurn RUDOLPHI, 1802 were found. Phagicola septentrionalis and the cestodes were always found together with Cryptocotyle lingua. The prevalence of Phagicola septentrionalis, the diphyllobothriids and the acanthocephala increased with increasing age of the pinniped host. The worm counts of all species appeared to increase with increasing age of the host. The adult male seals were more often infested with Phagicola septentrionalis and cestodes than the female adults and the younger pinnipeds. There was no correlation between blubber thickness of the seals and parasitic infection. The prevalence of the diphyllobothriids and the intensity of the infection with acanthocephala were higher in seals found in the eastern part of the Wadden Sea.

Prevalence and molecular characterisation of Acanthocephala in pinnipedia of the North and Baltic Seas

“…The latter might also be assumed for acanthocephalan infections, as studies during the first PDV epidemic revealed that young seals were less frequently infected with Corynosoma spp. than subadult and adult seals, which did not show differences between their age classes ( Borgsteede et al, 1991 , Strauss et al, 1991 ). Similar results were observed in the presented study.…”

“…Examinations after the PDV epizootic in 1988/89 revealed that 70.2%–94.5% of the investigated harbour seals were infected with acanthocephalans, namely Corynosoma strumosum (Rudolphi, 1802) ( Borgsteede et al, 1991 , Strauss et al, 1991 ). Further prevalence determined for the North Sea at the same time period was 32% in the Kattegat-Skagerrak ( Lunneryd, 1992 ), whereas the infection rate of harbour seals in the North Sea between 1997 and 2000 was 23% with C. strumosum as predominant species, but also C. semerme (Forssell, 1904) was detected in one animal ( Lehnert et al, 2007 ).…”

The Helminth Fauna from the Common Seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina, Linné, 1758) of the Wadden Sea in Lower Saxony*

“…In the first part of our study we reported about the trematodes, cestodes and acanthocephala of the common seal ( STRAUSS et al, 1991). The objective of the second part of the study was to investigate the occurrence of nematodes in seals from the Wadden Sea of Lower Saxony and their correlation with age, sex, nutritional status, and date and place of discovery of the body.…”

Stable isotope composition and parasitic infections of harbor seal young‐of‐the‐year used as prey‐based diet indicators

“…, Strauss et al . ). These species found in harbor seals of the German Wadden Sea are assumed to be trophically transmitted by invertebrate and fish intermediate hosts, although some of their life cycles are not completely understood (Dailey , Ólafsdóttir and Hauksson , Berland ).…”

“…In the digestive tract, two species of anisakid nematodes, Pseudoterranova decipiens and Contracaceum osculatum , are commonly found in the stomach of harbor seals from the Wadden Sea (Strauss et al . , Lehnert et al . ), while the acanthocephalan species Corynosoma strumosum and C. semerme parasitize the intestine (Borgsteede et al .…”