911-914Among the Clupeidae, the oil sardine, Sardinella longiceps, Valenciennes, 1847 dominates the catches of commercial boats in India. Despite two reports on isopod infection, no further information on parasitic crustacean infection on this fish species was available to date. Between June 2014 and April 2018, we examined 1513 specimens of S. longiceps, obtained from Cochin and Malabar Coast (Kerala, India) where we report for the first time the exclusive infection of this fish by the Lernaeopodid copepod, Clavellisa ilishae. This parasitic copepod was observed on the gill arches of the host collected from Malabar Coast; the specimens were all sexually mature females bearing egg sacs. Curiously, this copepod parasite was recovered only in a period of three months from October to December in the year 2017 even though the observation was continued for a total of 4 years from 2014-2018. This observation must be addressed further in terms of ecological impacts

Amruthavani, S

Drisya, O K

Kappalli, S

Reshmi, M V Nikhila

Rijin, K

NOPR

  Indian Journal of Geo Marine Sciences  Vol. 49 (05), May 2020, pp. 911-914  Short Communication     Copepod (Crustacea) infection on Oil sardine, Sardinella longiceps Valenciennes, 1847 (Actinopterygii; Clupeidae) - First report K Rijina, S Amruthavanib, M V Nikhila Reshmib,  O K Drisyaa & S Kappalli*,b aPost Graduate Department of Zoology and Research Centre,  Sree Narayana College, Kannur, Kerala – 670 007, India  bDepartment of Animal Science, School of Biological Sciences,  Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod – 671 316, India  *[E-mail: sudhakappalli@cukerala.ac.in] Received 07 December 2018; revised 29 March 2019 Among the Clupeidae, the oil sardine, Sardinella longiceps, Valenciennes, 1847 dominates the catches of commercial boats in India. Despite two reports on isopod infection, no further information on parasitic crustacean infection on this fish species was available to date. Between June 2014 and April 2018, we examined 1513 specimens of S. longiceps, obtained from Cochin and Malabar Coast (Kerala, India) where we report for the first time the exclusive infection of this fish by the Lernaeopodid copepod, Clavellisa ilishae. This parasitic copepod was observed on the gill arches of the host collected from Malabar Coast; the specimens were all sexually mature females bearing egg sacs. Curiously, this copepod parasite was recovered only in a period of three months from October to December in the year 2017 even though the observation was continued for a total of 4 years from 2014-2018. This observation must be addressed further in terms of ecological impacts. [Keywords: Clavellisa ilishae, First report, India, Parasitic copepod, Parasitic parameters, Sardinella longiceps]  Introduction Clupeids, representing the significant proportion of the marine fish biomass are highly vulnerable for infection by parasitic crustaceans and in several cases it leads to the economic losses in fisheries1-8. Among them all Sardinella sp. in general and Sardinella longiceps (oil sardine) in particular dominate the commercial catches landed in India9,10. Surveying through the literature, only two reports are available on the parasitic crustacean infection on S. longiceps and in both cases it was by the isopods11,12. Although a few reports of parasitic copepod infection in some Sardinella species (Sardinella fimbriata, S. aurita,  S. albella, S. gibbosa)13-19 are available, such  reports in S. longiceps are nil to date. In this context, the present paper is relevant as it appears the first report on the parasitic copepod infection on  S. longiceps.  Material and Methods  The present study was conducted during June 2014 to May 2018. Marine fishes were collected afresh directly from the local fishing boat harbored at Ayyikkara (11°51' N, 75°22' E), Azhikkal (11°56'00” N, 75°18'00” E), Chombala (11°39' N, 75°33' E) of Malabar and Toppumpadi harbour in Cochin (10°18'00” N, 76°17' E). Immediately after collection, the fish body parts including body surface, buccal cavity, branchial cavity, lateral line region, cornea, inner wall of the operculum, fin rays, caudal lobes and gill filaments were closely examined for infection by the parasitic crustacean with the help of magnifying lens. The recovered Clavellisa sp. were immediately removed from the gill arches and preserved in 70 % ethanol20 for further observation to identify the parasite at species level. The parasite along with the infected host fish was brought to the laboratory in order to have a close examination of the site of infection for further study on host fish and parasite. The parasite and its site of infection on the host fish were observed under dissection microscope and stereo microscope (Leica- S6D; 4X) as well.  The taxonomic identification of the recovered parasitic copepod was performed according to Pillai17. Photography of the host fish and the parasite was done using both Olympus (µTOUGH- 3000) and camera attached with stereo microscope Leica- S6D. Parasitological parameters [Prevalence (P %) = the number of infected hosts / the number of examined hosts x 100; Mean Intensity (I) = the number of parasites recovered/ number of fishes infected] were calculated according to Bush et al21. Host nomenclature and fish taxonomy were performed based on Fish Base (Froese and Pauly22). Voucher specimens of C. ilishae (accession no. CI- 01F, CI-02F, CI-03F) were deposited in the Parasitic Crustacean Museum, Crustacean Biology Research Laboratory, Sree Narayana College, Kannur, Kerala, India.   Results and Discussion  A total of 1513 specimens of Sardinella longiceps were observed during the study period (Table 1). INDIAN J GEO-MAR SCI, VOL 49, NO 05, MAY 2020   912 Among them, 30 members showed infection with a parasitic copepod Clavellisa ilishae, Pillai, 1962 which appears to be the first instance of a parasitic copepod infection on this Sardinella species; the average annual prevalence and intensity being 1.98 and 1.60, respectively. All recovered parasites were sexually matured females as evidenced by the presence of egg sacs containing eggs found attached on the gill arches of its host fish, S. longiceps (Fig. 1). Though scarce, this fish species (S. longiceps) from southern coast of India have been shown to have infection by two species of parasitic isopods (Anilocra dimidiata and Nerocila phaiopleura)11,23. But, during the present study, no isopod species was recovered from the S. longiceps distributed along the Cochin and Malabar Coast. This indicates the marked difference in the geographical distribution of parasitic crustaceans which in turn apparently under the influence of ecological factors. Few reports are available on the infection by parasitic copepod on other Sardinella species; the fringe scale sardinella, S. fimbriata shown to have the infection with lernanthropid copepod, Mitrapus oblongus and bomolochid copepod, Pumiliopes squamosus13,14,18 from Kerala Coast. Pumiliopes sardinellae and Peroderma cylindricum were recovered from perforated-scale sardine, S. albella distributed along the Coast of India17. In a recent report, S. albella from South West Coast of India was also found infected with an isopod, Nerocila Phaiopleura24 and those host fishes from Thailand has shown to have the infection by another Nerocila species (N. depressa)25. The goldstripe sardinella, S. gibbosa showed infection with parasitic isopods Aega sp. from the Kenyan coast26, Aega psora from the coastal waters of Egypt27, Nerocila triangulata and Ryukyua globosa from the south east coast of India20 S. aurita from the Turkish waters was also found infected with M. oblongus28. These informations indicating that aforesaid Sardinella species were more prone to parasitic infection while comparing to S. longiceps. Why some particular fish species of same genus have higher parasite species richness? This question needs to be addressed properly for a thorough understanding on the host response against parasites. The lernaeopodid copepod Clavellisa ilishae, a highly specialized gill parasite, was first reported in the clupeid fishes Tenualosa ilisha and Ilisha filigera from the Bay of Bengal18. The clupeids Sardinella aurita from the Mediterranean Sea, S. brasiliensis from Brazil and Sardinops sagax from Africa also form the host for this parasitic copepod with a prevalence of 6.60 %, 10.00 % & 4.00 %, respectively3,29,30. Recently, the studies from our laboratory has also shown the presence of this parasite infesting the new host S. fimbriata distributed along the Malabar coast of India, with the prevalence and intensity respectively 7.13 and 4.03. Present study along with the previous reports signifies the clupeid host specificity of this parasitic copepod agreeing the view of El-rashidy and Boxshall3, who suggested that C. ilishae have been found associated with clupeiform fishes, particularly from Indian waters.  Table 1 — Details of monthly collection of Sardinella longiceps and their copepod (Clavellisa ilishae) infection status during the period from June 2014 to April 2018 (NFO- Number of fishes observed, NFI- Number of fishes infected)  Month June 2014-May 2015 June 2015-May 2016 June 2016-May 2017 June 2017-May 2018 NFO NFI NFO NFI NFO NFI NFO NFI June 13 - 12 - 51 - 81 - July 27 - 18 - 18 - 70 - August 14 - 14 - 13 - 90 - September 12 - 38 - 12 - 73 - October 13 - 15 - 57 - 62 18 November 31 - 21 - 36 - 89 11 December 37 - 26 - 24 - 24 1 January 26 - 32 - 29 - 12 - February 18 - 21 - 22 - 59 - March 13 - 30 - 28 - 73 - April 17 - 17 - 15 - 37 - May 13 - 18 - 22 - 20 - Total 234 0 262 0 327 0 690 30    Fig. 1 — Sardinella longiceps infected with parasitic copepod Clavellisa ilishae. A- Host fish, S. longiceps, B- Site of infection of C. ilishae, and C- C. ilishae RIJIN et al.: COPEPOD INFECTION ON OIL SARDINE, SARDINELLA LONGICEPS   913   Fig. 2 — Monthly Variation in prevalence of Clavellisa ilishae on Sardinella longiceps during the period from June 2014 - May 2018  Recent studies from our laboratory reports the season dependent variation in the rate of infection of parasitic copepod, Peniculus fistula fistula on clupeid host, Anadontostoma chacunda; winter season extending from November to January exhibits highest prevalence (13.02 ± 2.54) followed by summer season (February- May), but significantly very less value  (3.51 ± 1.19). During the post-monsoon (September - October), recorded prevalence is < 1.2 and no infection was recorded during monsoon suggest the possible impact of ecological parameters16. Though the present host fish, S. longiceps were closely examined for a period of four years (June 2014 to May 2018), it didn’t show any species of parasitic crustacean infection other than C. ilishae. Significantly, the presence of this lernaeopodid copepod (C. ilishae) was noticed only during the months October, November and December, 2017 with a prevalence of 29.03 %, 12.36 % and  4.16 %, respectively (Table 1; Fig. 2). The question of this inconsistent pattern in the infection of this lernaeopodid copepod on the host fish, S. longiceps needs to be addressed further in terms of the ecological impacts.   Conclusion The present study is relevant not only in the context of the first report on the parasitic copepod infection on Oil sardine, S. longiceps, but also the identification of new host for this parasitic copepod, C. ilishae. This information encourages pursuing further study on the host-parasite interaction and their evolutionary significance. The inconsistent pattern in the infection of this lernaeopodid copepod on the host fish, S. longiceps also needs to be addressed in ecological terms.  Acknowledgements Authors gratefully acknowledge Ministry of Science & Technology, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India (INT/RUS/RFBR/P-330 dated 10.01.2019), Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India DST-SERB (EMR/2016/001163 dated 28.08.2017) and Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Govt. of Kerala (No. (T) 093/SRS/2011/CSTE, dated 25.06.2011) for financial support to carry out this work. ASPIRE Fellowship (Govt. of Kerala) offered to RK is gratefully acknowledged.   Competing Interests The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests and all authors have given consent for publication.  Author Contributions RK, AS, NMV and DOK are the main workers on the topic and RK prepared the draft of the manuscript. SK drew out the concept, supervised the work and corrected the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.    Availability of Data and Materials Voucher specimens were deposited in the collections of PCM-CBRL, Sree Narayana College, Kannur, Kerala- 670007, India.  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Copepod (Crustacea) infection on Oil sardine, Sardinella longiceps Valenciennes, 1847 (Actinopterygii; Clupeidae) - First report

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Copepod (Crustacea) infection on Oil sardine, Sardinella longiceps Valenciennes, 1847 (Actinopterygii; Clupeidae) - First report

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