Tissue changes in the shore crab Carcinus maenas as a result of infection by the parasitic barnacle Sacculina carcini (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Invertebrate Pathology
Sacculina carcini is a common parasite of the European shore crab, Carcinus maenas. Following successful penetration of the host, numerous rootlets are formed that permeate through the hosts' tissues. Ultimately, these form an externa that houses the developing nauplii larvae of the parasite. Most studies have quantified levels of infection by counting the presence of reproductive externae and their breakdown structures, called scars. However, the diagnosis of the disease based only on external features may lead to underreporting the prevalence of the parasite. In the current study, we examined the presence and severity of S. carcini in C. maenas (n = 221) in the Prince of Wales Dock, South Wales, U.K. using a range of diagnostic approaches to give an accurate representation of temporal dynamics of infection. Parasitized crabs were found with a mean prevalence of 24% as determined by histological examination of the hepatopancreas. However, the prevalence of S. carcini based on the presence of externae and scars was only 6.3% and 1.8%, respectively. Overall, parasitism was associated with smaller crabs, crabs later in the moulting cycle that were orange in colour (as opposed to green or yellow), and those with a higher number of bacteria in the haemolymph. Interestingly, only 7.5% of infected crabs showed evidence of distinct host (cellular) response to the presence of rootlets in the hepatopancreas.
Prevalence and histopathology of Sacculina carcini in shore crabs, Carcinus maenas
Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 2020
Sacculina carcini is a common parasite of the European shore crab, Carcinus maenas. Following successful penetration of the host, numerous rootlets are formed that permeate through the hosts' tissues. Ultimately, these form an externa that houses the developing nauplii larvae of the parasite. Most studies have quantified levels of infection by counting the presence of reproductive externae and their breakdown structures, called scars. However, the diagnosis of the disease based only on external features may lead to underreporting the prevalence of the parasite. In the current study, we examined the presence and severity of S. carcini in C. maenas (n = 221) in the Prince of Wales Dock, South Wales, U.K. using a range of diagnostic approaches to give an accurate representation of temporal dynamics of infection. Parasitized crabs were found with a mean prevalence of 24% as determined by histological examination of the hepatopancreas. However, the prevalence of S. carcini based on t...
Marine Biology Research - MAR BIOL RES, 2006
Crabs infected by rhizocephalans usually do not moult. Because moulting is the ultimate defence against fouling epibionts, infected as opposed to uninfected crabs can be expected to harbour a diversity of hard-bottom organisms on their cuticula. Here we provide unequivocal evidence that this is the case in the Carcinus maenas ÁSacculina carcini association. In a Danish sample of shore crabs, 75% of sacculinized individuals harboured macroscopic epibionts, whereas only 29% of the uninfected crabs were colonized. The mean numbers of fouling barnacles and serpulid tubeworms per individual were 7.7 and 47.3 for uninfected and infected crabs, respectively, corresponding to coverage of the cuticula by 0.7 and 5.4%. Infected crabs were 12% lower in tissue dry weight than uninfected individuals, which may be a factor causing the moult of sacculinized crabs to be postponed. Finally, a laboratory experiment suggested that infected crabs are less likely to bury than uninfected specimens. Because burying is an important fouling defence, such a parasite-induced behavioural change will favour the colonization by epibionts. It is argued that rhizocephalans infecting crabs from soft-bottom communities may indirectly affect the structure of the free-living benthic community by adding hard-bottom species that otherwise would be absent.
The Parasitic Rhizocephalan Barnacle Sacculina Carcini in Crabs of the Forth Estuary, Scotland
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 1998
In the Forth Estuary, Scotland, parasitic rhizocephalan barnacle Sacculina carcini externae or scars occurred on 64% of Carcinus maenas from the subtidal channel of the middle estuary. These became more frequent downstream, infecting 46·9% in the lower estuary basin. Male and female crabs were infected equally, and infection rates in low-tide samples did not differ from high-tide. The parasites occurred most frequently on crabs of 40–50 mm carapace width (CW) rather than the modal crab size class of 50–60 mm. Downstream, proportionately more smaller than larger crabs bore parasites whereas, further upstream, more larger than smaller crabs bore parasites. There is evidence for the annual appearance of new externae in July-October, especially in the lower estuary basin, followed by their growth and loss after about a year.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2000
The impacts of introduced marine pests are becoming increasingly apparent, prompting interest in the possibility of their biological control. We undertook laboratory and field experiments on host selection of one potential control agent (the endoparasitic barnacle, Sacculina carcini) against its natural host (the widely invasive European shore crab, Carcinus maenas) and several confamilial and more distantly related crustaceans. For comparison, we also tested host specificity in a related parasitic barnacle, Heterosaccus lunatus. The results confirm indistinct behavioral host selection in S. carcini, indicate very different mechanisms for host selection by S. carcini and H. lunatus (which could be related to differences between the two species in attachment points), and suggest host specificity in S. carcini depends on interactions between the parasite and the host's physiology. Development of convincing safety trials for marine parasites like S. carcini, in which the infective stage is a planktonic larva, will be more difficult than for many terrestrial parasites and will require detailed knowledge of the parasite's behavior and physiological interaction with its hosts.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2013
Parasites generally influence the feeding behavior of their host and may therefore indirectly impact ecosystem structure and functioning if the host plays an ecological key role. The ecologically important shore crab (Carcinus maenas) is commonly infected by the rhizocephalan parasite Sacculina carcini that aside from inflicting behavioral change, castration and ceased molting, also feminizes its male host morphologically. The latter results in reduced cheliped size, and, together with the other parasite-induced effects, this may potentially impact host feeding behavior. In two separate laboratory experiments, we offered infected and uninfected adult male crabs respectively ad libitum small, easy-to-handle blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) (10-15 mm in shell-length), and a limited, size-structured prey population (15-45 mm in shell-length; seven size-classes, ten mussels per class) during 10-15 days. Corrected for carapace width, the per capita consumption rate of the infected and uninfected crabs was similar in either experiment, both regarding number of mussels and amount of tissue dry-weight consumed. Also, the median mussel size preyed upon when exposed to the size-structure prey population was unaffected by infection. However, infected crabs preyed less frequently (26%) on intermediate mussel sizes (25-30 mm) than uninfected crabs. For both infected and uninfected crabs the median prey size increased linearly with maximum claw height. Host dry weight was significantly reduced by infection, assumed to be the result of the morphological feminization (reduced appendage size) rather than reflecting poorer general condition of infected individuals. Infected crabs were nonetheless subjected to a higher mortality rate than uninfected crabs during the experimental period. We conclude that Sacculina infection has a very limited effect on its host crabs' feeding biology and that any measurable ecosystem ramifications of the host-parasite association must originate from other processes; for instance reduced mean size (infection inhibits molting) and density (infection increases mortality) of the crab population where parasitism is high.
Some histopathological alteration of the infected blue crab Portunus pelagicus with parasites
Egyptian journal of aquatic biology and fisheries, 2020
The blue crabs are valuable sea food of great demand, both in domestic markets and in the export industry. They are intertidal species with low migration that can be found throughout the year (Robert et al., 2014 ; Zairon et al., 2015). P. pelagicus inhabits the Middle eastern coast of Mediterranean sea, Red sea and Suez Canal (Mehanna, 2005 & Mehanna and El-Aiatt, 2011). It lives in sandy mud habitat until shallow water down to 50 m (Fazrul et al., 2015). Vogan et al. (2001) stated that crabs have been known to have parasites that caused histopathological alterations to their organs and tissues. Histology is the standard method for the examination of crab tissues to identify the presence of parasites and their related pathologies (Bojko et al., 2013). ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: Received: June 6, 2020 Accepted: July 3, 2020 Online: July 7, 2020 _______________
Diseases of aquatic organisms, 2016
Pathophysiological studies of rhizocephalan infections are rare. We describe differences in the levels of tissue and hemolymph metabolites between Polyascus plana-parasitized and unparasitized individuals of Metopograpsus thukuhar. Crabs were assigned to either a parasitized (carrying at least 1 externa, i.e. a protruding reproductive body) or an unparasitized (not carrying externae and determined to be rootlet-free by a barnacle 18S rRNA-based polymerase chain reaction) group. Quantification of metabolites showed that muscle glycogen levels were significantly lower and hepatopancreas levels were significantly higher in parasitized crabs compared to unparasitized crabs; hepatopancreas triacylglycerol levels were significantly higher and hemolymph levels significantly lower in parasitized hosts, and there was no significant difference in muscle triacylglycerol levels between unparasitized and parasitized animals. Glucose levels in the hepatopancreas, muscle, and hemolymph were all si...
Sacculina carcini impact on energy content of the shore crab Carcinus maenas L
Parasitology
The impact of Sacculina carcini infection on the nutritional status of the shore crab Carcinus maenas was investigated in the western Dutch Wadden Sea for a period of 20 months. About 3.3% of the population was sacculinized, i.e. externally infected with S. carcini and only 0.7% presented scars of previous infection. The results of mixed linear models showed that sacculinized and non-sacculinized crabs had similar morphometric condition, while the energy density of parasitized crabs (externa excluded) was significantly reduced by about 4.3% overall, and by up to 5.8% in crabs under 40 mm carapace width. However, when Sacculina externa was included in the energy determinations, the difference in energy density decreased to 1.2%, while total energy content of the pair infected crab-parasite including externa was 30.8% higher than non-sacculinized crabs of similar size. The total energy content of ovigerous females (eggs included) was even higher, near doubling the energy of similar-si...
Journal of Fish Diseases, 1978
SoccuZwiagrani/'era was found in 12% of commercial sandcrabs, Portunus pelagicus, in Moreton Bay irrespective of sex. Although male and female crabs were randomly distributed about Moreton Bay, egg bearing females were most common at the seaward station. This and the distribution of epizoic barnacles on gills and carapace suggest the sexes school separately. The increased prevalence of barnacles on the carapace of infected crabs indicates Sacculina inhibits moulting. The distribution of interna infections in small crabs towards south and west and externa infections in large crabs in the easterly, seaward stations suggests Sacculina preferentially attacks young crabs as they move inshore and then induces crabs to behave like "berried' (i.e. egg bearing) females by moving seaward as they grow. Morphologically female crabs are little changed by Sacculina, but the males show considerable modification which is reflected most accurately in the shortening ofthe chelar propodus to proportions similar to normal females. Infected crabs are sterile and internally the hepatopancreas becomes green rather than tan. Parasitized crabs were seen to groom their externae as 'berried' females groom their egg masses.