Search

We provide the first known comparative assessment of metazoan parasite communities in two taxonomically and ecologically related sparids, Boops boops and Spicara maena, that are common in the coastal infralittoral habitats in the Mediterranean. Using abundant data for infracommunities in three localities off the Algerian coasts of the Mediterranean, we tested the general prediction that the phylogenetic proximity of the two hosts, their overlapping geographical distribution and habitat occupation, as well as the similar feeding habits and diet would contribute to a homogenization of their parasite community composition and structure. The regional fauna of parasites of B. boops and S. maena along the Algerian coasts of the western Mediterranean was species-rich (36 species) and dominated by heteroxenous species (27 spp; of these 20 digenean spp.). The phylogenetic relatedness between the two hosts resulted in a large number of shared parasites (56 %, 20 spp.). However, the significant overlap in the parasite faunas of the two sparid hosts and their similar feeding habits and diet did not translate into homogeneous parasite community pattern; a significant differentiation in terms of both, composition and structure, was observed.

A study was conducted to characterize 30 autochthonous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of three fish species; Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) and Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda), on the basis of phenotypic characters. The strains were characterized according to their potential properties; antimicrobial activity, acidifying capacity, proteolytic and lipolytic activity and they belonged to; Lactobacillus plantarum, L. sakei, L. coryniformis, L. fermentum, L. oris and Carnobacterium spp. All strains revealed inhibitory activities against one or more of the following target strains: Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Escherichia coli (ATCC25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC27853), Bacillus cereus (LRSE 01), Aeromonas hydrophila (LRSE 04), Listeria innocua (LRSE 12), Salmonella sp. (LRSE 05) and Vibrio sp. (LRSE 23). Characterization of the antimicrobial substances showed that 4 out of 30 produce bacteriocin-like substances. The majority of the strains (26) revealed weak acidification, 15 strains were able to hydrolyze casein and twenty six out of 30 LAB strains revealed lipolytic activity . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present work was to extend our knowledge on the variability of trace metals in sea urchin tissues, focusing on seasonal fluctuations (2010 February for "winter," May for "spring," August for "summer," November for "autumn") in the three different sampling sites of Algerian west coast (Oran Harbor (S1), Ain Defla (S2), and Hadjaj (belonging to Mostaganem City S3)). For this purpose, the bioavailability (metal indices) and bioaccumulation (metal concentrations in soft tissues) of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd), the physiological characteristics (e.g., biological indices such as condition index (CI), repletion index (RI), gonad index (GI)), and the biometric parameters (diameter (D) and the height (H)) of sea urchins Paracentrotus lividus were assessed and related to seasons and sites. To investigate the metal bioavailability to sea urchins more precisely, the metal indices were used as a reliable tool in the present work, instead of the metal concentrations only. The interest to standardize metal concentrations with the weight of the urchin test is to overcome the metal burden variations in the soft tissues of urchin related to the seasonal weight changes of the soft body of animal. We evidence that the most contaminated sites were S1 and S2. Furthermore, it should be noted that the bioavailability of metals, corresponding to the values of metal indices, is also more pronounced in S1 and S2 compared to that measured in S3. Thus, a correlation is observed between seasonal metal content in urchin tissues from the three sites and the corresponding metal indices. The high metal concentrations were obtained during the period when RI and CI were highest. So, it appears that the bioaccumulation of metals in sea urchins of the three sites studied is significantly influenced by the reproductive cycle and diet, feeding activity, and physiological state of these organisms. We noticed that the sea urchins from the sites S1 and S2 were small in size. It is probable that these animals, whose internal tissues contained high concentrations of metals, have been exposed to metal pollution, which might have affected both their growth and altered their physiological capacity. This approach is very original and might be used in the monitoring of the quality of coastal waters, and the present work provided a useful data set for Mediterranean monitoring network.

The aim of our study is to evaluate the impact of Bousfer desalination plant brine discharges on the Algerian west coast, on a natural population of the marine gastropod mollusc Patella rustica. The effects of a chronic exposure to such discharges are complex to understand due to the combined effects of environmental physico-chemical parameters (e.g., high salinity) and different pollutants that can modulate the physiological responses of this species to stress. In this context, we assessed the biological effects in a marine species P. rustica, by a multibiomarker approach that provided information on the health status of organisms in response to such an environmental stress. We measured biomarkers in the whole soft tissues of limpets as indicators of neurotoxicity (AChE activity), oxidative stress (CAT, SOD, GR, and GPx activities), biotransformation (GST), oxidative damage (LPO through TBARS levels), and genotoxicity (CSP 3-like activity). In parallel, hydrological parameters were measured in the Bay of Oran, at four selected sites: site H considered as a "hotspot," located at Bousfer desalination plant; two other sites E and W, at the east and the west of H respectively; finally, site R "reference" located in Madragh, which is considered as a remote clean site. Our analyses revealed that the activities of antioxidant defense enzymes reached the highest levels in P. rustica collected from site H. The activation of antioxidant defense system in these organisms translated the alteration of their status health, reflecting a level of environmental disruption generated by the desalination plant brine discharges and the high salinity in this area. We also observed that the tissues of limpets collected from site H as well as the two other sites, E and W, had undergone molecular damage, confirmed by the high levels of CSP 3-like activity. This damage resulted from chronic exposure to environmental conditions, potentially genotoxic, due to the desalination plant discharges. The present results indicate the adverse impact of brine effluents from desalination plants on marine fauna and suggest the need for a more consistent approach to environmental management of brine discharges.

Native mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis are used as bioindicator organisms to assess the concentration levels and toxic effects of persistent chemicals, polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals using biomarker responses, such as catalase (CAT), glutathione s-transferase (GST), and condition indices, for the Algerian coast. The results show that mussels of Oran Harbour are extremely polluted by PCBs and PAHs, i.e., 97.6 and 2892.1μg/kg d.w., respectively. Other sites present low levels of pollution. Furthermore, high concentrations of zinc, lead and cadmium are found in mussels from fishing, agricultural and estuarine sites, respectively, while low concentrations of copper are found in all of the sites studied. CAT activity is negatively correlated with Cd and Cu, and Zn is positively correlated with GST and CAT. Site classification tools reveal the potential toxicity of coastal areas exposed to anthropogenic pressure and a gradient of toxicity along the Algerian west coast., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis collected from a noncontaminated site (Chaib Rasso) were transplanted during one, three and six months at Ghazaouet harbor (GH), areas with a strong gradient of pollution. The micronucleus test (MN) was selected to monitor the impact of contamination, along with physiological indexes (condition index CI and organo-somatic indexes RI and GSI). The results show a negative correlation of MN variation in gill cells with CI but a positive correlation with transplantation duration. However, a significant correlation was found between the indexes. Moreover, the findings indicate that MN in the hemolymph and gills of transplanted mussels for one, three and six months at GH are significantly higher than those of the reference site. However, no significant differences were noted between the three transplants at the two organs. Monitoring the physiological status of mussels, in parallel with the biomarker measurements, is useful in assessing the impact of contaminants., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study, we are interested in spatial and temporal variations of the biological and physiological responses of mussels collected from contrasting marine sites regarding their levels of pollution. We measured both the conditions indices and the enzymatic biomarker expression: acetylcholinesterase (AChE), catalase (CAT) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity. The enzymatic biomarkers were chosen because they respond to environmental stress. Results show a significant interactions between biomarker variations and conditions indices in the industrial harbor site throughout the seasons. But no significant changes in the reference site. Furthermore, we classified the sites along the seasons according to their potential ecotoxicity, calculated based on the sum of the normalised values of the biomarkers. The results show a very high biomarker index in the impacted site with irregular changes between seasons. This biomarker index is therefore a valuable tool that could be used to classify the toxic potential of coastal sites., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A new hemiurid digenean, Saturnius gibsoni n. sp., is described from the stomach lining of Mugil cephalus L. off Oran, Mediterranean coast of Algeria. Characteristic morphological features of the new species include small size of the body which is comprised of six pseudosegments, small ventral sucker, weakly developed mound-shaped flange at the level of the ventral sucker, and eggs being large in relation to the size of the body. Saturnius gibsoni n. sp. resembles S. minutus Blasco-Costa, Pankov, Gibson, Balbuena, Raga, Sarabeev & Kostadinova, 2006 and two unidentified Saturnius spp. in the small size of the body and most metrical features. However, in spite of the presence of five transverse septa resulting in six pseudosegments and the range overlap of some metrical features, the ventral sucker in S. minutus is much larger, the ventral sucker muscular flange is more prominent, the last pseudosegment is narrower in relation to body width and more rounded, and the eggs are smaller (mean 21 × 10 vs 25 × 12 μm). Furthermore, the partial sequences of the 28S rRNA gene region (domains D1-D3; 1,195 nt) obtained from two isolates of S. gibsoni n. sp. differed by 11 nt (0.9%) from that of S. minutus. Both unidentified forms of Saturnius are clearly distinguishable from S. gibsoni n. sp. by the presence of six stout, transverse muscular septa, forming seven pseudosegments (vs five septa forming six pseudosegments). Bayesian inference analysis of partial 28S rDNA sequences based on a total of 15 species from the families Hemiuridae and Lecithasteridae depicted the Bunocotylinae Dollfus, 1950 as a strongly supported basal clade, with Bunocotyle progenetica (Markowski, 1936) as the closest sister taxon to Saturnius spp.

This study addressed the impacts of fishing on the rates of parasitism using the sparid Boops boops as a model fish species. Using a large suite of parasite species in B. boops, with different life histories, transmission pathways and host specificity, we compared parasite diversity, prevalence, abundance and community structure at two Mediterranean localities in the Balearic Sea, Santa Pola Bay and the Gulf of Oran, that are characterised by a contrasting pattern of fishing of B. boops. A total of 360 fish were examined comprising nine distinct samples collected during the warm and the cold weather months. A total of 29 parasite species were identified, with eight species in common for the two localities. Parasite component communities at Santa Pola Bay were more species rich and abundant than those at the Gulf of Oran and exhibited a different community structure. Of the eight common taxa used in the quantitative comparisons, five exhibited significant difference for prevalence between the two localities, four having substantially higher prevalence at Santa Pola and only one being more prevalent at the Gulf of Oran. Two specialist trematodes and the sparid generalist monogenean exhibited consistently higher prevalence and abundance at Santa Pola Bay than at the Gulf of Oran; the two specialists were also identified as key species for assigning individual fish to their locality of origin. The consistent differences in the richness, abundance and structure of parasite communities in B. boops from Santa Pola Bay and the Gulf of Oran may reflect the contrasting patterns of exploitation of the populations of this fish host at the two localities., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Five species of digeneans parasitic in the pilchard Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum), a little studied host, from off the Algerian coast of the western Mediterranean are redescribed. These are Parahemiurus merus (Linton, 1910) Manter, 1940, Aphanurus stossichii (Monticelli, 1891) Looss, 1907, Aphanurus virgula Looss, 1907, Lecithaster confusus Odhner, 1905 and Pronoprymna ventricosa (Rudolphi, 1819) Poche, 1926. One of these, A. virgula, is a new record for this host. One other digenean, Hemiurus luehei Odhner, 1905, was also recorded from this host. A complete checklist of the helminth parasites of S. pilchardus throughout its distributional range, comprising 104 host-parasite records of 39 taxa, is presented., (© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011)

Between 1995 and 2001, the soft-bottom communities along the 1180 km of the Algerian coast were sampled in nine gulfs and 12 harbours, providing a total of 655 samples. Eight macrozoobenthos-based biotic indices (S, N, H', BQI, AMBI, BENTIX, BO2A and ITI) were selected to describe the general patterns of the coastal water quality status and to establish a quality diagnosis for the different zones subjected to anthropogenic pressure (e.g., harbour construction, industrial and urban pollution). Reference values were determined for each of the eight indices selected by analyzing the indices' parameter distribution. The Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) was estimated for each index, resulting in an EQR Mean Score and an EQR Bad Score. From these EQR, we defined an EQS for each sample. The agreement between these EQS was analysed using the Kappa method in order to propose a survey strategy for the Algerian coastal waters that would take into account the soft-bottom biological compartment. The results clearly indicate that high and good quality assessments are prevalent in the gulfs, while quality assessments in harbours vary greatly from bad to good. The effect of pollution observed in the harbours can be classified in two main groups, according to when they were constructed and their relative degree of openness to the sea, which permits better water circulation and probably dilutes the pollution., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)