Metabolic effects of parasitization by the barnacle Polyascus plana (Cirripedia: Rhizocephala: Sacculinidae) on a grapsid host, Metopograpsus thukuhar.

Pathophysiological studies of rhizocephalan infections are rare. We describe differences in the levels of tissue and hemolymph metabolites between Polyascus plana-parasitized and unparasitized individuals of Metopograpsus thukuhar. Crabs were assigned to either a parasitized (carrying at least 1 externa, i.