In this study conducted along the coast of Odisha, India, reproductive trade-offs in isopods of the family Cymothoidae were investigated, focusing on the relationship between the number vs. volume of eggs and the percentage of brood to body volume. Ovigerous females from species with substantial sample sizes (n > 30) were analyzed to understand their survival strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDue to their large size and obligate nature, Cymothoid isopods inflict a high degree of tissue damage to fish. Still, they are understudied at an ecosystem level despite their global presence and ecological role. In this work, we collected fish host-isopod parasite data, along with their life history and ecological traits, from the northern part of the east coast of India and investigated patterns in host specialisation and preference of isopod parasites using a trait-based network perspective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatterns in parasite diversity are shaped by their environmental and ecological settings, and to better understand their interactions with hosts and the corresponding biology, it is crucial to understand these context-dependent patterns. To achieve this, we use cymothoid isopods, an important group of fish parasites, to test a long-standing hypothesis about parasite diversity and prevalence pattern: whether semi-enclosed water bodies allow low diversity and high prevalence of parasitic isopods. Specifically, we compare these patterns between Chilika lagoon (Odisha, India), a semi-enclosed water body, and the adjoining Odisha coast (India).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To study the morphology of all the life stages and the life cycle of the parasitic isopod Cymothoa indica Schioedte and Meinert, 1884, and its prevalence in different commercial fishes in the Chilika Lagoon, India.
Methods: From April 2021 to December 2022, different life stages of the said parasites were collected from five different fish species from four localities of the Chilika Lagoon. The parasites were carefully removed from the host with a pair of forceps and then identified following standard literature and description.
The present paper reports the site of attachment preference, overlapping and partitioning of niche among different life stages of parasitic isopod Cymothoa indica Schiöedte and Meinert, 1884 in the Gobiidae fish Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton 1822) collected from the Chilika lagoon, India. Out of 2113 host fishes, 176 were found to be infected by the parasites. Out of the 233 different life stages of the parasites examined, 89 were female, 104 were male, and the rests were juveniles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present report provides the first material evidence of (Guérin-Méneville, 1832) collected from two different landing centres of the Chilika lagoon, thus claiming the first report of this parasite from India. One of the specimens was recorded from the host fish species Hamilton 1822, constituting the first host record for this isopod. A key for the identification of among its congeners is also providedMolecular characterization of Cytochrome C Oxidase I (COI) gene of was based on one specimen submitted for the first time to the NCBI database.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe parasitic isopod Schiöedte and Meinert, 1884 was recorded from the buccal cavity of the host (Hamilton, 1822) collected from Chilka Lake, Odisha in 1924, but its identification was doubtful as mentioned by the author in his book on "Fauna of Chilika Lake: Tanaidacea and Isopoda". The present report of parasitic isopod from the buccal cavity of the host Cuvier, 1833 collected from the water of Bay of Bengal, Gopalpur-on-Sea confirms its occurrence along the Odisha coast. The record of the isopod parasite (H.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present record of different developmental stages of the parasite (Bleeker, 1857) and gravid female of Bruce, 1986 from different individuals of same host (Bleeker, 1850) collected from Bay of Bengal, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Odisha, India are the first record of these parasites from the northern part of east coast of India. The record of from the host is the first host record for this parasite.
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