Multiple parasite introduction and host management plan: case study of lutjanid fish in the Hawaiian Archipelago.

ABSTRACT

The bluestriped snapper Lutjanus kasmira and the blacktail snapper L. fulvus were deliberately introduced in the Hawaiian Archipelago from French Polynesia in the late 1950s to enhance local fisheries. These species rapidly spread all over the Windward Islands, became extremely abundant and, therefore, caused controversial environmental concerns. A comparison of the whole metazoan parasite community of L. kasmira and L. fulvus was performed between their native ranges in French Polynesia (Moorea Island in the Society Archipelago and Ua Huka in the Marquesas Islands) and their introduced range in O'ahu, Hawaii, USA. We suggest that 8 monogenean species have been introduced with L. kasmira and L. fulvus into the Hawaiian Archipelago from French Polynesia; 2 other species as well as one nematode should be referred to as cryptogenic. Moreover, experimental mortality conducted on monogeneans found in Polynesia emphasizes the inefficiency of anti-parasite treatment which was performed 50 yr ago, explaining possible parasite introduction. Finally, we discuss the potential threat of exotic parasites to the native fish community in the Hawaiian Archipelago and conclude that the absence of co-evolved hosts prevents parasite transfer from non-indigenous to native fishes as monogeneans are highly specific.