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Klimpel S, Busch MW, Kuhn T, Rohde A, Palm HW
The Anisakis simplex complex off the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica): endemic populations versus introduction through migratory hosts
Anisakid nematodes are highly abundant fish parasites in the high Antarctic, but few reports exist of the whale worms Anisakis spp. Klimpel and co-workers found that migrating myctophids around the South Shetland Islands were infected with Anisakis simplex C and A. pegreffii (both Anisakis simplex sibling species-complex). Gymnoscopelus nicholsi harboured both species, having identical ITS-1, 5.8S and ITS-2 sequences to specimens from Pacific Canada or California (A. simplex C) and the Mediterranean Sea (A. pegreffii). The authors suggest that delphinids along South America are the typical final hosts for Anisakis species. The nematodes originate from more northern waters, and are at the most southern range of distribution in the Southern Ocean. Presumably, whale worms are introduced to the Southern Ocean by migrating whales and myctophids, bringing into question the existence of stable Anisakis populations in the high Antarctic.
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