Stomach nematodes of harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) from the German and Danish Sea
Lick, R.R. (1989). Stomach nematodes of harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) from the German and Danish Sea. CM Documents - ICES, C.M. 1989(N:7). International Council for the Exploration of the Sea: Copenhagen. 12 + tables + figures pp.
Part of: ICES CM Documents - ICES. ICES: Copenhagen. ISSN 1015-4744
Prevalence of infection with stomach nematodes of 184 harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) of the Schleswig-Holstein part of the German Wadden sea and of 90 harbour seals of the Danish west coast were investigated. Most of the animals were collected from March to October 1988 during the seal epidemic in the North Sea. Because seals from the two areas obviously belong to the same population, both samples were pooled together. The total prevalence of infection was clearly correlated with the age of seals. It increased from 28% in animals younger than 1 year up to 95% in animals older than 2 years. In hosts older than 2 years, 95% of all seals investigated were infected by Pseudoterranova decipiens, 28% by Contracaecum osculatum, and 13% by Anisakis simplex. About 95% of all 4953 nematodes found were P. Decipiens, about 3% were C. Osculatum, and about 1% were Anisakis simplex. There was no significant difference in the relative abundance of the three nematode species between the two sexes of seals.
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