Round Goby - Parasites

Parasites

In total, 52 parasite species are registered in the round goby in the native area. Most abundant parasites of the Black-Sea round goby are metacercariae of trematodes of Heterophyidae family, such as Cryptocotyle concavum, C. lingua, and Pygidiopsis genata. The trematodes C. lingua and P. genata can infest human. In the 1950s, along the coast of the Gulf of Taganrog (Sea of Azov) the round roby was registred as a host of epizootic of nematodes, Tetrameres fissispina and Streptocara crassicauda, which were fatal to ducklings.

In the Gulf of Gdańsk, Baltic Sea, the parasite fauna of the invasive round goby consists of 12 species. The core of the parasite fauna comprises two species of trematode metacercariae: C. concavum and Diplostomum spathaceum. Also, in the Baltic Sea the round goby is paratenic host of the invasive nematode Anguillicoloides crassus. In the Vistula Lagoon, the most abundant parasites of the round goby are nematodes Hysterothylacium aduncum and A. crassus.

25 species of parasites are noted in the round goby in the Great Lakes. The trematode D. spathaceum is most abundant core species overall. Also the cestode Proteocephalus sp. and the trematode Neochasmus umbellus are rather abundant. The round goby may circumvent more of the metacercariae of N. umbellus from completing their life cycle. The parasite “load” on the invasive gobies in the Great Lakes appears relatively low in comparison with their native habitats, lending support to the "enemy release hypothesis".