Anisakid nematodes in Black Sea harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena ssp. relicta) from the Turkish Western Black Sea: with notes about association with body length and stomach content

Authors

ERDEM DANYERFollow
IŞIL AYTEMİZ DANYERFollow
ARDA MEHMET TONAYFollow
AYHAN DEDEFollow
HAYRETTİN AKKAYAFollow

Abstract

Parasites are naturally present in the natural gastrointestinal fauna of marine mammals without necessarily causing any pathology. However, under various stress conditions, parasites can cause pathological disorders in the gastrointestinal system. There is insufficient information on parasite fauna of mammals living in the Black Sea waters off the Turkish coast. This study examined the stomach contents of bycaught and stranded harbour porpoises collected between 2002 and 2003 along the Turkish coast of the western Black Sea for parasitic presence. In a previous stomach content study, 450 nematode fragments (including 232 intact specimens) were occasionally collected from 33 harbour porpoises (27 females and 6 males) and preserved in 70% ethanol at room temperature. Nematodes were detected in 81% of the examined harbour porpoise stomachs. The nematodes were identified as Contracaecum spp. and Hysterothylacium spp. in their larval forms, as well as adult specimens of the family Anisakidae (Railliet & Henry, 1912). Understanding the parasitological fauna of cetaceans is crucial for both their health and conservation efforts. This study presents the first findings on the parasitological findings of harbour porpoises from the Turkish coast of the western Black Sea and explores the association between stomach contents, parasitological findings, and body length.

Author ORCID Identifier

ERDEM DANYER: 0000-0002-7922-7384

IŞIL AYTEMİZ DANYER: 0000-0003-4658-1819

ARDA TONAY: 0000-0003-2718-9328

AYHAN DEDE: 0000-0002-7712-615X

HAYRETTİN AKKAYA: 0000-0002-4557-0299

DOI

10.55730/1300-0128.4374

Keywords

Anisakidea, Contracaecum spp., harbour porpoises, Hysterothylacium spp., western Black Sea, stomach content

First Page

85

Last Page

93

Publisher

Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBITAK)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

DANYER, ERDEM; AYTEMİZ DANYER, IŞIL; TONAY, ARDA MEHMET; DEDE, AYHAN; and AKKAYA, HAYRETTİN (2025) "Anisakid nematodes in Black Sea harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena ssp. relicta) from the Turkish Western Black Sea: with notes about association with body length and stomach content," Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences: Vol. 49: No. 2, Article 7. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0128.4374
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/veterinary/vol49/iss2/7