The effect of parasitic infection by Hematodinium sp. on escape swimming and subsequent recovery in the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L.)

Citation

Stentiford GD, Neil DM, Albalat A, Milligan RJ & Bailey N (2015) The effect of parasitic infection by Hematodinium sp. on escape swimming and subsequent recovery in the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L.). Journal of Crustacean Biology, 35 (1), pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1163/1937240X-00002296

Abstract
Tail flip escape swimming was measured in the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758) up to cessation and following 4 hours recovery, and was compared with that of lobsters infected by the parasitic dinoflagellate Hematodinium sp. Swimming in uninfected lobsters comprised around 65 high-power flips in Phase 1 and a variable number of less powerful flips in Phase2. Lightly-infected lobsters executed fewer flips in Phase 2, and heavily-infected lobsters produced only a few weak flips. Following 4 hours recovery uninfected lobsters produced 84.3% of the flips produced initially, due to a smaller number of Phase 2 tail flips. Infected lobsters showed less recovery, proportional to the severity of infection. The metabolic basis of the two-phase swimming pattern and the reduced performance during infection by Hematodinium is discussed. Our findings have implication for the catchability of uninfected and infected N. norvegicus, especially on fishing grounds where the fishing effort is high.

Keywords
Nephrops norvegicus; parasite infection; Hematodinium; escape swimming

Journal
Journal of Crustacean Biology: Volume 35, Issue 1

People

Dr Amaya Albalat

Senior Lecturer, Institute of Aquaculture