INVESTIGADORES
DANS Silvana Laura
artículos
Título:
Gastrointestinal parasites of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus from the extreme southwestern Atlantic, with notes on diet composition
Autor/es:
ROMERO, MARIA ALEJANDRA; FERNANDEZ, MERCEDES; DANS, SILVANA LAURA; GARCIA, NESTOR ANIBAL; GONZÁLEZ, RAÚL ALBERTO; CRESPO, ENRIQUE ALBERTO
Revista:
DISEASES OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS
Editorial:
INTER-RESEARCH
Referencias:
Lugar: Oldendorf/Luhe; Año: 2014 vol. 108 p. 61 - 70
ISSN:
0177-5103
Resumen:
We surveyed the gastrointestinal tracts of 6 bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus
from Patagonia to check for helminth parasites and characterize dolphin diet. All dolphins harbored
parasites (6477 helminths). We recorded 7 species, including nematodes Anisakis simplex
s.l., Pseudoterranova decipiens, acanthocephalans Corynosoma cetaceum, C. australe, and digeneans
Braunina cordiformis, Pholeter gastrophilus and Synthesium tursionis. Among the gastric
helminths, the most prevalent species were C. cetaceum and A. simplex while C. australe and
S. tursionis inhabited the intestine at low prevalence. This is the first report of C. australe and
P. decipiens in bottlenose dolphins. Regarding diet, 5 stomachs contained food remains (consisting
of 103 prey items). The most important prey species were Geotria australis and Stromateus
brasiliensis, but their role in parasite transmission is unclear. At the community level, the gastro -
intestinal parasite community of T. truncatus was depauperate and strongly overlapped the community
described for pelagic dolphins inhabiting Patagonia, suggesting a strong local influence in
shaping helminth communities. Nevertheless, these observations are at odds with the notion that
oceanic cetaceans have comparatively poorer helminth fauna than neritic species such as bottlenose
dolphins, due to the lower likelihood of parasite exchange.