0000000000001138
AUTHOR
E. Helle
Host‐parasite relationships between two seal populations and two species of Corynosoma (Acanthocephala) in Finland
Ringed seals (Phoea hispida botnica), from the Bothnian Bay, north-eastern Baltic Sea were examined for acanthocephalan parasites in 1977-1982, and specimens from Lake Saimaa in south-eastern Finland (P. h. saimensis) were examined in 1980-1981. The two seal stocks have been isolated from Arctic stock for 11,000 years and from each other for 8,000 years. Corynosoma strumosum and C. semerme were found in the Baltic seals, but only C. strumosurn in those from the lake. Eighty two of the ringed seals caught in the Bothruan Bay were infected with both Corynosoma species, one with a single infection of C. strumosum and one with C. semerme inautumn. The total number of C. semerme increased in rel…
Characterisation of the external features ofSchistocephalus solidus (M�ller, 1776) (Cestoda) from different geographical regions and an assessment of the status of the Baltic ringed sealPhoca hispida botnica (Gmelin) as a definitive host
A comparative study of some morphological (segment number, scolex morphology and biometry, length and weight) and biological (maturation in different hosts) features ofSchistocephalus solidus plerocercoids and adults from different geographical regions (Baltic Sea and the British Isles) was carried out. The length of the plerocercoids fromGasterosteus aculeatus was shown to be the variable that best correlated with segment number. A very clear bimodal distribution of segment numbers separated the majority of British and Baltic plerocercoids (British n=21, mean length 25.48, SD 5.63, range 14–34 mm; mean segment number 66.33, SD 8.68, range 51–86. Baltic n=30, mean length 33.23, SD 4.64, ran…
Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host.
In theory there should be a strong coupling between host and parasite population sizes. Here, we investigated population size and structure in 3 species of acanthocephalans,Corynosoma semerme,C. strumosumandC. magdaleni, in ringed seals (Phoca hispida) from the Bothnian Bay over a period of more than 20 years. During this period, seal numbers first decreased markedly and then increased steadily; at the same time, a paratenic fish host particularly important forC. strumosumhas gradually disappeared from the bay due to decreasing salinity. We found no evidence that the mean abundance of any of the 3 acanthocephalan species changed significantly over time, nor was there any relationship betwee…