Authors

Discussion

Few data are available on parasite communities in marine fish, especially for those of limited commercial importance.  Dabs (Limanda limanda) and long-rough dabs (Hippoglossoides platessoides) are abundant non-fishery flatfish species in the North Sea, for which limited or parasite community studies are available.  Samples of both species were obtained from prawn-trawl by-catch in the Firth of Forth area (eastern Scotland), enabling characterization and comparison of parasites across both species. Results show a degree of overlap between the communities of the two host species, with some generalist parasites, but with distinctive characteristics in each.  Dab communities were characterized by having more adult digeneans in the gut and larval acanthocephalans (Corynosoma strumosum), whereas long-rough dab communities were dominated by crustacean ectoparasites and in the most recent survey larval cestodes, which were both scarce in dabs.  Generalist larval nematodes were moderately abundant in both host species, contributing most to the overlap between parasite communities.  In conclusion, despite morphological and habitat similarities between the two hosts, their macroparasite communities were distinct, despite the presence of nominally generalist parasites common to both species.