Spatial distribution of the parasite Kroyeria carchariaeglauci Hesse, 1879 (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Kroyeriidae) on gills of the blue shark (Prionace glauca (L., 1758))

Abstract

Five blue sharks (Prionace glauca) were examined for gill-infesting copepods. Three species of siphonostomatoid copepods were collected: Gangliopus pyriformis, Phyllothyreus cornutus, and Kroyeria carchariaeglauci. The spatial distribution of K. carchariaeglauci was analyzed. The number of K. carchariaeglauci per shark was positively related to gill surface area and host size. Copepods were unevenly distributed amongst hemibranchs; flanking hemibranchs could be arranged into three statistically homogeneous groups. Female K. carchariaeglauci typically attached themselves within the middle 40% of each hemibranch; males were more evenly dispersed. Eighty percent of all K. carchariaeglauci attached themselves to secondary lamellae, the remainder were in the underlying excurrent water channels. Most K. carchariaeglauci were located between 10 and 25 mm along the lengths of gill filaments. Overall, the spatial distribution of K. carchariaeglauci was quite specific in all study planes. Explanation of this distribution is set forth in terms of natural selection pressures; however, the equally plausible explanation that the distribution pattern exhibited by these copepods is phylogenetically determined and may have little to do with contemporary selective constraints should not be ignored.