Protozoal and epitheliocystis-like infections in the introduced bluestripe snapper Lutjanus kasmira in Hawaii

Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

Michael L. Kent¹  Thierry M. Work¹  Robert A. Rameyer¹  Geraldine Takata¹ 

关键词: Bluestripe snapper;    Lutjanus kasmira;    Apicomplexa;    Protozoa;    Epitheliocystis-like organism;    Pathology;    Epizootiology;   

DOI  :  10.3354/dao057059

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: The bluestripe snapper, or taape, was introduced into Hawaii in the 1950s and has since become very abundant throughout the archipelago. As part of a health survey of reef fish in Hawaii, we necropsied 120 taape collected from various coastalareas south of Oahu and examined fish histology for extraintestinal organisms. Forty-seven percent of taape were infected with an apicomplexan protozoan compatible with a coccidian. Infection was evident mainly in the spleen and, less commonly, thekidney. Prevalence of this coccidian increased with size of fish, and we saw no significant pathology associated with the organism. Twenty-six percent of taape were also infected with an epitheliocystis-like organism that occurred mainly in the kidneyand, less commonly, the spleen. In contrast to the coccidian, fish mounted a notable inflammatory response to the epitheliocystis-like organism, and this inflammation appeared to increase in severity with age. Prevalence of the epitheliocystis-likeorganism infection increased with age, but infection was not seen in fish greater than 26.5 cm fork length. The high prevalence of coccidial infection in introduced taape prompts the concern that these organisms, along with the epitheliocystis-likeorganism, have the potential to be transmitted to native reef fish. Given the impact of other introduced microbial organisms on native Hawaiian fauna, there is a clear need to assess whether protozoa and bacteria are endemic to Hawaii,and whether theynegatively impact native reef fish that closely associate with taape.

【 授权许可】

Unknown