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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on July 9, 2009
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2009 66(10):2141-2147; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsp186
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© 2009 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Dichelesthium oblongum (Copepoda: Dichelesthiidae) infestation in wild-caught Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus

Mark D. Fast1, Mark S. Sokolowski1, Keith J. Dunton1 and Paul R. Bowser2

1 School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000, USA
2 Aquatic Animal Health Program, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-6401, USA

Correspondence to M. D. Fast: tel: +1 631 632 9251; fax: +1 631 632 8820; e-mail: mfast{at}notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Fast, M. D., Sokolowski, M. S., Dunton, K. J., and Bowser, P. R. 2009. Dichelesthium oblongum (Copepoda: Dichelesthiidae) infestation in wild-caught Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 2141–2147.

Atlantic sturgeon were sampled in autumn 2007 and 2008 along the New York Bight. The fish were examined for the presence of external parasites, and blood, fin, and opercula biopsies were collected for subsequent serum analysis and histopathological evaluation. Dichelesthium oblongum, a parasitic copepod, was observed on 93% of the sturgeon sampled (77 out of 83) between Rockaway and Jones Beaches, NY, and Sandy Hook, NJ. During the course of the examinations, grossly visible lesions associated with the attachment and feeding of juvenile stages of D. oblongum were noted on the operculum, pectoral, dorsal, and anal fins of infested fish. Significant differences were observed between the level of infestation and serum chemistry across sampling sites, such that the most heavily infested fish were caught off Jones Beach (15.8 ± 2.79 lice fish–1), higher infestations than at Rockaway Beach (8.86 ± 0.89 lice fish–1) and Sandy Hook (5.31 ± 1.40 lice fish–1). Animals from Jones Beach also indicated ion loading (i.e. sodium, calcium, and magnesium), possibly as a result of stress or water loss through D. oblongum infestation compromising the epithelial barrier. The interaction of the environment and parasite with host life-history characteristics are discussed in terms of their ecological significance to this threatened fish species.

Keywords: Atlantic sturgeon, copepod, Dichelesthium oblongum, histopathology, parasite, serum chemistry

Received 12 January 2009; accepted 31 May 2009; advance access publication 9 July 2009.


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