Helminthofauna gammarid Gammarus oceanicus and Gammarus duebeni of the Murmansk coast of the Barents Sea

Abstract

The results of a parasitological examination of Gammaridae (Gammarus oceanicus and Gammarus duebeni) collected in May–July 2021 on the littoral of the Murmansk coast of the Barents Sea (Pechenga Bay, Teriberskaya Bay, Yarnyshnaya Bay, Ivanovskaya Bay) are presented. It was found that the helminthofauna of gammarids includes larval stages of 6 helminth species (metacercariaes of trematodes Podocotyle atomon and Podocotyle reflexa, cysticercoids of cestodes Microsomacantus sp., larvaes of nematodes Spiruridae and acanthellas of the acanthocephalan Polymorphus phippsi and Echinorhynchus gadi). Metacercariaes of trematodes Podocotyle atomon infect both gammarusids species regardless of their habitat. Comparative analysis has shown that in amphipods from the Pechenga Bay area near the salmon farm, the helminthofauna is represented by parasites whose life cycle takes place using marine fish as the final host only – Podocotyle atomon, Echinorhynchus gadi. A correlation between the quantitative parameters of invasion by Podocotyle atomon trematode metacercariaes and the salinity of water in the collection areas was established.