Helminths of epipelagic fish in the western Bering Sea and southern Sea of Okhotsk

Abstract

: During the parasitological survey on the research vessel Professor Kaga-novsky , the western part of the Bering Sea and the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk was investigated for fish infection by parasites. In total, 1083 specimens of 17 species of teleosts and salmon shark Lamna ditropis were dissected, in which 32 species of parasites were found. The plerocercoids Pelichnibothrium speciosum s. lato prevailed in the Bering Sea. In the Sea of Okhotsk, the maximum intensity and prevalence of infection were noted for P. specioum s. lato , Anisakis sp. and Echinorhynchus gadi s. lato . The difference in the number of studied fish species in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas (14 vs 9) significantly affected the species diversity of noted parasites (28 vs 18). Teleosts caught in the coastal area and the ones performing vertical migrations to some degree differed in terms of infection pattern, primarily due to digeneans component. Macroparasites of the crested sculpin Blepsias bilobus were studied for the first time, and 20 new records were made on the infection of previously studied fish species. Parasite fauna of fish in the epipelagic zone of the western part of the Bering Sea and the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk is characterized by significant intensity, however, relatively poor species diversity.