Genetic identification of Anisakis spp. (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from cetaceans of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean: ecological and zoogeographical implications.

Adult Anisakis Dujardin, 1845 were found in two specimens of killer whale Orcinus orca and one specimen of franciscana Pontoporia blainvillei stranded from off the coast of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Genetic identification of the nematodes (N = 144) was performed by sequence analysis of the mitochondrial (mtDNA cox2) and the nuclear (nas 10 nDNA) gene loci. Anisakis pegreffii and Anisakis berlandi were detected in the two individuals of O. orca, while Anisakis typica and A. pegreffii were identified in P. blainvillei. Morphological and morphometric analysis also carried out on adult specimens of A. pegreffii and A. berlandi has allowed to underlining the usefulness of genetic/molecular markers in their recognition. This represents the first record of A. pegreffii in O. orca and P. blainvillei and of A. berlandi in O. orca. This is also the first sympatric and syntopic occurrence, as adults, of A. pegreffii and A. berlandi from the Austral Region of the Atlantic Ocean waters. These results provide insights into the knowledge of the host ranges and geographical distribution of these parasites in the basin waters of the region. Pontoporia blainvillei showed low abundance values of infection with Anisakis spp., which is the general pattern for coastal dolphins in the area, whereas O. orca harboured higher abundance of Anisakis spp. than those previously recorded among cetacean species in the Argentine Sea. Differences in the Anisakis spp. distribution and their parasitic loads, observed among the three host specimens, are discussed in relation to the oceanographic parameters, as well as to the host ecology. The usefulness of genetic/molecular markers in the recognition of adults of the sibling species A. pegreffii and A. berlandi with considerable overlapping in morphometric and morphological characters was underlined. The distribution of Anisakis species from Southwestern Atlantic waters is discussed in relation to their value as indicators for studies on the zoogeography of their hosts at a regional-scale level.

Myxozoans as biological tags for stock identification of the Argentine hake, Merluccius hubbsi (Gadiformes: Merlucciidae).

Myxozoans have been successfully used as tags for fish stock identification around the world. However, few studies using myxozoan tags have been carried out in the Southern Atlantic, a region with complex oceanography that constitutes a potentially suitable scenario for testing the utility of myxozoans as indicators. Its usefulness was tested using six samples of Merluccius hubbsi in two different regions of the Argentine Sea. Generalized linear models were performed to assess the effects of fish size and sex, and year and region of capture and selected using the Information Theoretic approach. Three myxozoan species were recorded: Kudoa rosenbuschi, Myxoproteus meridionalis and Fabespora sp. Results of modelling species individually showed differential capabilities for detecting geographical population structure at different spatial scales, with K. rosenbuschi and Fabespora sp. allowing the discrimination of northern and southern stocks, but Fabespora sp. also as a promissory indicator of intrapopulation sub-structure due to different migratory routes during non-reproductive periods. This work confirms that myxozoans offer a set of suitable markers at different spatial scales, which can be selected individually or in any combination, depending on the geographical extent of the study, constituting tools adaptable to the objectives of further research on fish population structure.