Historical isolates of dolphin morbillivirus: origin and new data.

Dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) was isolated in striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba from the Mediterranean Sea stranded along the coast of Spain during a lethal epidemic that killed thousands of individuals in 1990-1992. Though some of these isolates (MUC, 16A and the reference strain) have been extensively characterised, details on their origin were not reported in the literature, and records for these isolates are often difficult to trace and are, sometimes, erroneous. Here, we provide unpublished biological and histopathological data for these isolates, summarize the literature on their characterization and make suggestions for future studies.

Molecular phylogeny of the Pseudaliidae (Nematoda) and the origin of associations between lungworms and marine mammals.

Metastrongyloid lungworms from the family Pseudaliidae infect the lungs and cranial sinuses of cetaceans worldwide, except , which exhibits a striking terrestrial association with the Egyptian mongoose, . Previous phylogenies of the Metastrongyloidea that included some (2-7) marine species of the Pseudaliidae confirmed that these species are closely related, but also grouped species of (family Filaroididae) between the members of the Pseudaliidae. In this study we extracted DNA from representatives of all six genera of the Pseudaliidae and amplified the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) and cytochrome oxidase subunit I () genes in order to investigate the concept of the Pseudaliidae as a monophyletic unit.

Parasite communities in a marine fish indicate ecological recovery from the impacts of the Prestige oil-spill 12-13 years after the disaster.

The Prestige oil-spill (2002) is one of the major marine accidents resulting in contamination of virtually all types of marine habitat along c.900 km of coastline in the North-East Atlantic. Environmental pollution affects parasite populations and communities, both directly and through effects on intermediate and definitive hosts.

From development to taxonomy: the case of (Monogenea: Microcotylidae) in the Mediterranean meagre.

The microcotylid is a pathogenic monogenean infecting , a candidate for species diversification in the Mediterranean aquaculture. Life-history stages of commonly co-occur in field infections, but to date, morphological data have only been provided for oncomiracidia and adults although identifying life-history stages can be useful in infection management. A total of 114 specimens of were analysed to characterize the developmental events and to assess morphological and morphometric variations before and after maturity.

A severe microsporidian disease in cultured Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus).

One of the most promising aquaculture species is the Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) with high market value; disease control is crucial to prevent and reduce mortality and monetary losses. Microsporidia (Fungi) are a potential source of damage to bluefin tuna aquaculture. A new microsporidian species is described from farmed bluefin tunas from the Spanish Mediterranean.

Cardicola mediterraneus n. sp. (Trematoda, Aporocotylidae): a new species infecting the gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata L., from the Western Mediterranean Sea.

The genus Cardicola Short, 1953 has the highest number of species within the family Aporocotylidae (Trematoda: Digenea). Five Cardicola species have been reported to date in the Mediterranean Sea, one of them in the gilthead seabream Sparus aurata L. Analyses of infected S.

Determinants of lungworm specificity in five cetacean species in the western Mediterranean.

Background: Current data about Pseudaliidae show contrasting patterns of host specificity between congeneric species. We investigated how both contact and compatibility between hosts and parasites contributed to the patterns of lungworm infection observed in a community of five species of cetaceans in the western Mediterranean.

Methods: The lungs of 119 striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba, 18 bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, 7 Risso's dolphins Grampus griseus, 7 long-finned pilot whales Globicephala melas, and 6 common dolphins Delphinus delphis were analysed for lungworms.

Causes of cetacean stranding and death on the Catalonian coast (western Mediterranean Sea), 2012-2019.

The causes of cetacean stranding and death along the Catalan coast between 2012 and 2019 were systematically investigated. Necropsies and detailed pathological investigations were performed on 89 well-preserved stranded cetaceans, including 72 striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba, 9 Risso's dolphins Grampus griseus, 5 bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, 1 common dolphin Delphinus delphis, 1 Cuvier's beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris and 1 fin whale Balaenoptera physalus. The cause of death was determined for 89.

Using Boops boops (osteichthyes) to assess microplastic ingestion in the Mediterranean Sea.

This study assesses microplastic ingestion in Boops boops at different geographical areas in the Mediterranean Sea. A total of 884 fish were caught at 20 coastal sites in Spain, France, Italy and Greece and analyzed using a common methodological protocol. Microplastics were found in 46.

The taxonomic status of Skrjabinalius guevarai Gallego & Selva, 1979 (Nematoda: Pseudaliidae) and the synonymy of Skrjabinalius Delyamure, 1942 and Halocercus Baylis & Daubney, 1925.

Within the cetacean lungworm family Pseudaliidae Raillet & Henry, 1909, the distinction between the two genera of the subfamily Halocercinae Delamure, 1952, i.e. Halocercus Baylis & Daubney, 1925 and Skrjabinalius Delyamure, 1942, is principally based on the structure and shape of the male copulatory bursa.

Cranial crassicaudiasis in two coastal dolphin species from South Africa is predominantly a disease of immature individuals.

Crassicauda spp. (Nematoda) infest the cranial sinuses of several odontocetes, causing diagnostic trabecular osteolytic lesions. We examined skulls of 77 Indian Ocean humpback dolphins Sousa plumbea and 69 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins Tursiops aduncus, caught in bather-protecting nets off KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) from 1970-2017, and skulls of 6 S.

Sex-specific impact of inbreeding on pathogen load in the striped dolphin.

The impact of inbreeding on fitness has been widely studied and provides consequential inference about adaptive potential and the impact on survival for reduced and fragmented natural populations. Correlations between heterozygosity and fitness are common in the literature, but they rarely inform about the likely mechanisms. Here, we investigate a pathology with a clear impact on health in striped dolphin hosts (a nematode infection that compromises lung function).

Considerations on the taxonomy and morphology of Microcotyle spp.: redescription of M. erythrini van Beneden & Hesse, 1863 (sensu stricto) (Monogenea: Microcotylidae) and the description of a new species from Dentex dentex (L.) (Teleostei: Sparidae).

Background: Microcotyle erythrini van Beneden & Hesse, 1863 (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea) and other closely related species of the genus are often considered as cryptic. Records in hosts other than the type-host with no species confirmation by molecular analyses have contributed to this situation.

Methods: Gill parasites of five sparid fishes, Boops boops (L.

Transmission and Predictors of Burden of Lungworms of the Striped Dolphin () in the Western Mediterranean.

Pseudaliid lungworms infect the lungs and sinuses of cetaceans. Information on the life cycle and epidemiology of pseudaliids is very scarce and mostly concerns species that infect coastal or inshore cetaceans. Available evidence indicates that some pseudaliids are vertically transmitted to the host, whereas others are acquired via infected prey.

In vivo fluorescent cercariae reveal the entry portals of Cardiocephaloides longicollis (Rudolphi, 1819) Dubois, 1982 (Strigeidae) into the gilthead seabream Sparus aurata L.

Background: Despite their complex life-cycles involving various types of hosts and free-living stages, digenean trematodes are becoming recurrent model systems. The infection and penetration strategy of the larval stages, i.e.

Determining suitable fish to monitor plastic ingestion trends in the Mediterranean Sea.

The presence of marine litter is a complex, yet persistent, threat to the health and biodiversity of the marine environment, and plastic is the most abundant, and ubiquitous type of marine litter. To monitor the level of plastic waste in an area, and the prospect of it entering the food chain, bioindicator species are used extensively throughout Northern European Seas, however due to their distribution ranges many are not applicable to the Mediterranean Sea. Guidance published for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive suggests that the contents of fish stomachs may be analyzed to determine trends of marine plastic ingestion.

Neither Diplectanum nor specific: a dramatic twist to the taxonomic framework of Diplectanum (Monogenea: Diplectanidae).

The taxonomy of the genus Diplectanum has been exclusively based on morphological features, with 28 nominal species parasitic on perciform fishes recognised. We used molecular data, to our knowledge for the first time, to evaluate the taxonomic framework of Diplectanum, infer the relationships amongst species attributed to this genus, re-assess the degree of host specificity and explore the population genetic structure of Diplectanum spp. parasitising Mediterranean sciaenids, which are potential target fish species for aquaculture diversification in the region.

Morphology, performance and attachment function in Corynosoma spp. (Acanthocephala).

Background: Functional inference on the attachment of acanthocephalans has generally been drawn directly from morphology. However, performance of structures is often non-intuitive and context-dependent, thus performance analysis should be included whenever possible to improve functional interpretation. In acanthocephalans, performance analysis of attachment is available only for Acanthocephalus ranae, a species that solely relies on the proboscis to attach.

Come rain or come shine: environmental effects on the infective stages of Sparicotyle chrysophrii, a key pathogen in Mediterranean aquaculture.

Background: Evidence concerning the environmental influence on monogenean transmission and infection processes is widely accepted, although only the effects of a limited number of abiotic factors on particular monogenean species have been explored. The current context of climate change calls for further research both on this subject, and also that concerning monogenean hosts, especially in aquaculture.

Methods: In this study, four experiments were used to assess the response of the infective stages of Sparicotyle chrysophrii, a pathogenic monogenean from gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) cultures in the Mediterranean, to variations of temperature (from 10 °C to 30 °C), pH (7.

Taxonomic status and epidemiology of the mesoparasitic copepod Pennella balaenoptera in cetaceans from the western Mediterranean.

Pennella balaenoptera is a mesoparasitic copepod that has been reported in at least 17 cetacean species. Subtle morphological differences in the first antennae of adult females have been used to discriminate this species from P. filosa, a species infecting fishes.

Reproductive inequalities in the acanthocephalan Corynosoma cetaceum: looking beyond 'crowding' effects.

Background: At present, much research effort has been devoted to investigate overall ("average") responses of parasite populations to specific factors, e.g. density-dependence in fecundity or mortality.

Assessing cetacean surveys throughout the Mediterranean Sea: a gap analysis in environmental space.

Heterogeneous data collection in the marine environment has led to large gaps in our knowledge of marine species distributions. To fill these gaps, models calibrated on existing data may be used to predict species distributions in unsampled areas, given that available data are sufficiently representative. Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility of mapping cetacean densities across the entire Mediterranean Sea using models calibrated on available survey data and various environmental covariates.

From mammals back to birds: Host-switch of the acanthocephalan Corynosoma australe from pinnipeds to the Magellanic penguin Spheniscus magellanicus.

Trophically-transmitted parasites are regularly exposed to potential new hosts through food web interactions. Successful colonization, or switching, to novel hosts, occur readily when 'donor' and 'target' hosts are phylogenetically related, whereas switching between distantly related hosts is rare and may result from stochastic factors (i.e.

Skoulekia erythrini n. sp. (Digenea: Aporocotylidae): a parasite of Pagellus erythrinus (L.) (Perciformes: Sparidae) from the western Mediterranean with an amendment of the generic diagnosis.

A new aporocotylid, Skoulekia erythrini n. sp., is described from the heart, cephalic kidney and gill blood vessels of the common pandora Pagellus erythrinus (L.