Differences in the parasitic effects of a bopyrid isopod and rhizocephalan barnacle on the portunid crab, Charybdis bimaculata.

Bopyrid isopods and rhizocephalan barnacles are obligate parasite crustaceans which harm their decapod hosts. However, to the best of our knowledge, studies have not compared which of these parasites has a greater parasitic effect on its hosts. Here, the parasitic effect of the bopyrid isopod, Allokepon hendersoni, and an unidentified sacculinid rhizocephalan species, infesting the same population of portunid crabs, Charybdis bimaculata, was investigated and compared for the first time. Samples were collected from the bycatch of a trawl fishery in Tosa Bay, Japan. A total of 2601 crabs were collected, of which 14 (0.55%) were parasitized by the bopyrid and 21 (0.82%) by the rhizocephalan. One of the two female crabs parasitized by the bopyrid was ovigerous (with much fewer eggs than unparasitized females). No ovigerous crab was found from the eight females parasitized by the rhizocephalan. Because only two female crabs were parasitized by the bopyrid, the following analyses were made using the male crabs. Both parasites reduced the wet weight (crab condition) and the cheliped size (secondary growth) of C. bimaculata, but the impact of the parasitism did not differ between the parasite species. The size of the abdominal flap of male hosts was reduced by the bopyrid infestation; however, rhizocephalan infestation caused enlargement of the abdominal flap, which is an indication of feminization. The present study provides information on how the effect of these two parasitic castrators on the same host crab varies. A moderate decrease in crab condition and cheliped development was common among the parasites, suggesting that the degree of impact might be favorable for the survival of the two parasites species.

Parasitic effects of the bopyrid Megacepon goetici (Crustacea: Isopoda) on the varunid crab Gaetice depressus.

The effects of infestation by the bopyrid isopod Megacepon goetici on the varunid crab Gaetice depressus were investigated. This crab is one of the most common crabs in Japanese intertidal shores where it plays a key role in structuring the benthic community. Samples were collected in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. From a total of 1694 crabs, 61 (3.6%) were parasitized by bopyrid isopods. No ovigerous females were parasitized, which may be evidence of parasitic castration of female host crabs, as has been described in other parasitized brachyuran crabs. Total weight was reduced in both males and females, and infested crabs also exhibited subtle lateral and dorsal carapace swelling due to the presence of parasites under the carapace. We therefore conclude that the morphology and the reproductive capacity of G. depressus were significantly affected by the bopyrid isopod.