Helminth fauna of the yellow-legged gullLarus cachinnansin Galicia, north-west Spain

Abstract

AbstractThirty-six helminth species were found in 324 gulls examined during June 1994 to February 1996 from different localities of Galicia: 25 trematodes (Brachylaimasp.,Brachylecithum microtesticulatum,Cardiocephaloides longicollis,Cryptocotyle lingua,Cryptocotyle concavum,Diplostomum spathaceum,Echinostephilla virgula,Galactosomum phalacrocoracis,Gigantobilharzia acotylea,Gymnophallus deliciosus,Gynaecotyla longiintestinata,Himasthla elongata,Himasthla quissetensis,Knipowitschiatrema nicolai,Levinseniella(Levinseniella)propinqua,Maritrema gratiosum,Maritrema linguilla,Microphallus primas,Microphallus similis,Ornithobilharzia canaliculata,Parorchis acanthus,Phagicola minuta,Psilostomum brevicolle,Renicolasp. andStephanoprora denticulata), four cestodes (Alcataenia micracantha,Microsomacanthus ductilis,Tetrabothrius(Oriana)erostrisandWardium cirrosa), six nematodes (Anisakis simplex,Contracaecum rudolphii,Cosmocephalus obvelatus),Eucoleus contortus,Paracuaria aduncaandTetrameres(Tetrameres)skrjabini) and one acanthocephalan (Arhythmorhynchus longicollis).Tetrabothrius erostriswas the most prevalent species (79.6%), followed byC. obvelatus(47.8%),C. lingua(37.4%),G deliciosus(30.9%),G. longiintestinata(22.8%),P. adunca(21.9%),B. microtesticulatum(17.6%),E. contortus(14.5%) andM. similis(9.3%).Microphallus similiswas the dominant species, with a Berger-Parker index (BP) of 0.32, followed byT. erostris(BP=0.10). All species presented an aggregated dispersion exceptG. acotyleaandG. phalacrocoracis, which showed a random dispersion. Species that seem to have the greatest predilection for specific sites along the intestine are:C. longicollisandA. micracantha(first third),Brachylaimasp.,M. similisandG. longiintestinata(last third) andA. longicollis(second half). Eight species are known to be pathogenic to commercially important fish or molluscan species and several are pathogenic to humans.