Fish length, diet, and depth drive Anisakis levels in a zooplankton-feeding fish

Abstract

Parasites play a key but overlooked role in the functioning of marine systems. Understanding the drivers of parasite infection in fish is thus crucial. Anisakis levels in the Atlantic horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus resulted from both biotic and environmental drivers. Ontogenic variation of the diet was the first driver of Anisakis level. The nonlinear pattern confirmed that the variation in parasitism was related to ontogenetic dietary shifts. The impact of depth on diet also explained the effect of depth on parasites. In deeper areas, fish only access pelagic prey, where Anisakis presence is high, consistent with the pelagic nature of the parasite. Finally, relative proportions of parasitic burden by tissue appeared to be driven by lipid content. In lipid-rich species like T. trachurus, Anisakis can find favorable conditions in the body cavity and in muscle and avoid the liver. Parasitism levels in fish are thus the result of patterns at play at different levels, and these factors should be better considered before being able to include parasites in an integrated vision of marine ecosystem functioning.