Behavioral and pathological changes in flat fish (paralitchthys olivacus) infected with miamiensis avidus [electronic resource].

Includes references.

In the present study, experimental injection ofJapanese flounders with a scuticociliate, Miamiensis. Avidus (M avidus), was carried out in Tottori Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station in Japan using the immersion route on 200 young fries of Japanese flounder of total length: 2.67 em and six large flshes 2 years old oftotal length 27-32 em to study behavioral andpathological changes. Histopathology showed varying degrees of tissue damage including severe epidermal and dermal necrotic lesions, necrotic myositis, encephalitis and myelitis. Many ciliates engaged in the act of ingestion ofred blood cells were observed in the gill, skeletal muscle, skin and brain of the infected flounder. Injection with M avidus altered swimming behavior (upright and near the surface vs horizontal and near the bottom of aquarium) besides, increasing swimming time and patterns ofconspicuous behaviors while, reducing the anti-predation behavior offish. These behavioral changes may serve as useful indicators for the diagnosis of parasitic infestation. These results lead to the conclusion that the natural route ofinvasion

Summary in Arabic.

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