Infection of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) by the parasite Hematodinium sp.: insights from 30 years of field observations

Molto-Martin, I., Neil, D. M. , Coates, C. J., MacKenzie, S. A., Bass, D., Stentiford, G. D. and Albalat, A. (2024) Infection of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) by the parasite Hematodinium sp.: insights from 30 years of field observations. Royal Society Open Science, 11(1), 231147. (doi: 10.1098/rsos.231147) (PMID:38234432) (PMCID:PMC10791531)

Abstract

The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, is an important representative of the benthos and also supports valuable fisheries across Europe. Nephrops are susceptible to infection by Hematodinium sp., an endoparasitic dinoflagellate that causes morbidity and mortality. From an epizootiological perspective, the Clyde Sea Area (CSA; west of Scotland) is the best-studied Hematodinium–Nephrops pathosystem, with historical data available between 1988 and 2008. We have revisited this pathosystem by curating and updating prevalence values, differentiating host traits associated with disease exposure and progression, and comparing Hematodinium sp. disease dynamics in the CSA to other locations and to other decapod hosts (Cancer pagurus, Carcinus maenas). Prevalence from a 2018/2019 survey (involving 1739 lobsters) revealed Hematodinium sp. still mounts a synchronized patent infection in the CSA; hence this pathogen can be considered as enzootic in this location. We highlight for the first time that Nephrops size is associated with high severity infection, while females are more exposed to Hematodinium sp. More generally, regardless of the host (Norway lobster, brown and shore crabs) or the geographical area (Ireland, Wales, Scotland), Hematodinium sp. patent infections peak in spring/summer and reach their nadir during autumn. We contend that Hematodinium must be considered one of the most important pathogens of decapod crustaceans in temperate waters.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: I.M.-M. was funded by a Match Funded PhD Studentship between the University of Stirling and Centre forEnvironment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS). C.J.C. and A.A. were supported, in part, via the Universityof Stirling and a BBSRC International Partnerships Grant 2022. Data accessibility: The raw data and associated data analysis have been uploaded to the Zenodo data repository. TheZenodo DOI for the historical dataset (1988–2019) is https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10149095 [54], while theZenodo DOI for the prevalence data collected between November 2018 and October 2019 is https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10149764 [55].
• Keywords: decapod crustaceans, long-term datasets, dinoflagellate, marine parasite, fisheries, disease connectivity
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Neil, Professor Douglas and Albalat, Dr Amaya

Creator Roles

Neil, D.: Conceptualization, Data curation, Writing – review and editing
Albalat, A.: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Supervision, Writing – original draft

• Authors: Molto-Martin, I., Neil, D. M., Coates, C. J., MacKenzie, S. A., Bass, D., Stentiford, G. D., and Albalat, A.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Royal Society Open Science
• Publisher: The Royal Society
• ISSN: 2054-5703
• ISSN (Online): 2054-5703
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © 2024 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Royal Society Open Science 11(1): 231147
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence