Biased sex ratio in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) swim-bladder parasite Anguillicola crassus, experimentally induced by 11-ketotestosterone.
Parasites are intimately connected to the host in which they live, and some may be affected by the polluted environment of their host. The present study describes the effect of a steroid hormone (11-ketotestosterone) on the sex ratio of the invasive hematophagous nematode Anguillicola crassus Kuwahara, Niimi & Itagaki, 1974, when experimentally injected to European eels, Anguilla anguilla. Our results showed that this steroid induced a significant male-biased ratio in the nematode A. crassus infrapopulations, suggesting that the presence of endocrine disruptors in the environment may lead to skewed sex ratios among parasites.
Fazio
G
G
UMR 5244 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Biologie et Ecologie Tropicale et Méditerranéenne, Université Via Domitia, Perpignan Cedex, France. fazio@univ-perp.fr
Moné
H
H
Mouahid
G
G
Sasal
P
P
D000400:Air Sacs / Q000469:parasitology; D000811:Anguilla / Q000469:parasitology*; D000818:Animals; D018533:Biomass; D017176:Dracunculoidea / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D012744:Sex Ratio; D017205:Spirurida Infections / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D013739:Testosterone; C003600:11-ketotestosterone