Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2002, Síða 138

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ECOLOGY OF ENDOPARASITES OF THE ATLANTIC PUFFIN
sons and between years (Harris, 1984). Mi-
nor prey species include crustaceans (espe-
cially calanids and the euphausiids Thysa-
noessa and Meganyctiphanes), polychaetes
(nereids) and squid (Harris, 1984; Nettle-
ship and Birkhead 1985).
The winter diet of puffins varies between
shelf waters, where there is numerical dom-
inance by invertebrates (mainly the eu-
phausiid Thysanoessa inermis) but in terms
of biomass fish are dominant (Ammodytes
spp., Mallotus villosus, and others), and
oceanic waters in which the puffins fed al-
most exclusively on the glacier lantern fish
{Benthosema glaciale) and on squid (Go-
natus fabricii). In both areas polychaetes
(Nereis pelagica) are present (Falk et al.
1992).
Trematodes
The only gymnophallid previously reported
from puffins is Gymnophallus deliciosus,
(Belopol’skaia, 1952 in Hoberg, 1981). Of
the known gymnophallid life-cycle Hoberg
(1981) postulates: “...the majority includes
two intermediate hosts, both of which are
usually intertidal lamellibranchs (Loos-
Frank, 1971). Benthic polychaetes have
been reported as second intermediate hosts
for several species (Loos-Frank, 1969;
Margolis, 1971; 1973; Popova and Nikiti-
na, 1978). Most fínal hosts of these trema-
todes are species of Charadriiformes, in-
cluding larids, and Anseriformes (primari-
ly sea ducks) whose foraging occurs in rel-
atively shallow marine littoral areas. A ma-
jor component of their diets consist of in-
tertidal lamellibranchs, gastropods, and
benthic polychaetes.” Ching (1995), how-
ever, claims that bivalves are the most com-
mon intermediate host of gymnophallids.
Therefore the prey types that most likely
serve as intermediate hosts for puffins are
probably lamellibranchs and/or poly-
chaetes associated with the littoral zone, so
a seasonal/geographic fluctuation is proba-
ble therefore.
Cestodes
Crustaceans (gammarids, copepods, and
ostracods) are common intermediate hosts
of cestodes of wild birds (Avery, 1969; Burt
and Jarecka, 1980; Graeves et al., 1989).
Thus, the specimen belonging to the family
Hymenolepidae that was recovered from
the anterior part of the small intestine to-
gether with Alcataenia sp. (Dilepididae) -
found mostly in the duodenum - probably
do not show intermediate host specificity.
Nematodes
Nematode species in general are oviparous.
For Contracaecum spp. intermediate hosts
include fish: flounder (Platichtys flesus)
(Køie, 1999), open sea herring (Clupea
harengus) (Podalska et al., 1997), and in-
vertebrates (copepods and the nauplii of
Balanus) (Køie.and Fagerholm, 1995). For
Seuratia spp. a range of crustaceans serves
as potential intermediate hosts (Anderson
et al., 1996). For Streptocara spp. two in-
termediate hosts are suspected (Cheng,
1964).
Pentastomes
Reighardia sterncie is a non-specifíc para-
site of various seabirds (Bóckeler, 1984),
which has been previously reported in a