Nearshore Foodwebs and the Distribution of Acanthocephalan Parasites in Antarctic Seabirds

Eric P. Hoberg, Animal Parasitic Disease Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture

Document Type Article

Abstract

The host-distribution of parasitic helminths can provide important insights concerning trophic relationships in marine communities. Acanthocephalans of the genus Corynosoma Lühe 1904 represent a significant component of the helminth fauna of homeothermic vertebrates, particularly marine mammals, in the southern oceans (Deliamure 1968; Edmonds 1957; Zdzitowiecki 1984a; and others). Successful reproduction for most species of Corynosoma is limited, by developmental specificity, to pinnipeds and cetaceans while those typical of avian hosts are rare (Holloway and Bier 1967; Zdzitowiecki 1978a, 1984a, 1984b, 1985; Hoberg, 1985). Species of Corynosoma may have broad patterns of occurrence and the distribution of these in typical and incidental final hosts is controlled by ecological factors, particularly food habits.