{"id":24,"date":"2015-02-04T18:32:48","date_gmt":"2015-02-04T18:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agrilife.org\/parasitology\/?page_id=24"},"modified":"2026-02-13T18:07:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T18:07:06","slug":"fish","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/parasitology\/research\/fish\/","title":{"rendered":"Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas Coastal Sharks<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\"NewSharkPic\"<\/a>The Texas recreational shark fishery consists mostly of three common coastal shark species,\u00a0the Atlantic Sharpnose (Rhizopriodon terrenovae<\/em>), Blacktip (Carcharhinus limulatus)<\/em>\u00a0and Bonnethead\u00a0(Sphyrna tiburo<\/em>). By sampling these sharks as they come in to port, we have a great opportunity to conduct the first thorough examination of their gastrointestinal helminth communities, which can help\u00a0elucidate migration patterns,\u00a0verify stomach content analyses, and determine the\u00a0health status of these species.<\/p>\n

Selected publications and abstracts from this project:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. No publications or abstracts at this time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For more publications, please visit the publications tab<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Gulf of Mexico Deep Sea Fish<\/strong><\/h1>\n

    My lab\u00a0has maintained a major, long-standing interest in the biodiversity of the parasitic helminths of deep sea fishes, particularly with\u00a0grenadiers\/rattails (Macrouridae)\u00a0and cusk-eels (Ophidiidae). However, we have also studied many other deep sea species. Very little is known about the internal parasites of deep sea fishes in most areas of the oceans\u00a0and virtually all endohelminths we’ve collected from\u00a0Gulf of Mexico grenadiers\/rattails represent undescribed taxa. This research was initiated in the early 1970s and continues today with recent collaborations<\/a> from other regions of the world (e.g., Japan, India, Egypt). Previous studies have included both endo- and ectoparasites.<\/p>\n

    List of Fish Species Studied:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Common Atlantic Grenadier, Western Softhead Grenadier, Hollowsnout Grenadier, Cusk Eel, Thickbeard Grenadier, Beardless Codling, Bullseye Grenadier, Longtail Bass, Doublethread Grenadier & Snake Mackerel<\/p>\n

    Selected publications and abstracts from this project:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
      \n
    1. Blend, C. K., and N. O. Dronen. 2015. Description of a new species of Podocotyle<\/em> Dujardin, 1845 (Digenea: Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae) from the cusk-eel, Luciobrotula corethromycter<\/em> Cohen, 1964 (Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae), from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Acta Parasitologica 60<\/strong>: 234-243.<\/li>\n
    2. Blend, C. K. and N. O. Dronen. 2014. A review of the genus Helicometra<\/em> Odhner, 1902 (Digenea: Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae) with a key to species including Helicometra overstreeti<\/em> n. sp. from the cusk-eel Luciobrotula corethromycter<\/em> Cohen, 1964 (Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae) from the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Biodiversity, 88p.<\/li>\n
    3. Blend, C. K., N. O. Dronen, S. L. Gardner, G. R. Racz & H. W. Armstrong. 2012. The deep-sea fish digenean genus Tellervotrema <\/em>Gibson & Bray, 1982 (Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae): Re-evaluation of the type species, T. armstrongi <\/em>Gibson & Bray, 1982, and T. beringi <\/em>(Mamaev, 1965). Zootaxa 3295<\/strong>: 1\u201329.<\/li>\n
    4. Blend, C. K., N. O. Dronen, and H. W. Armstrong. 2004. Macrourimegatrema<\/em> brayi<\/em> n. gen., n. sp. (Digenea: Opecoelidae) from four species of deep-sea macrourid fishes from the Gulf of Mexico and Carribbean Sea, with a review of parasites reported from species of Bathygadus <\/em>G\u00fcnther and Gadomus <\/em>Regan (Macrouridae). Zootaxa 566<\/strong>: 1\u201318.<\/li>\n
    5. Blend, C. K., N. O. Dronen, and H. W. Armstrong. 2000. Six new species of Lepidapedon<\/em> Stafford, 1904 (Digenea: Lepocreadiidae) from deep-sea macrourid fishes from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, with revised keys to the species of the genus. Systematic Parasitology 45<\/strong>: 1\u201323.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      For more publications, please visit the publications tab<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

       <\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Pacific Anglerfish<\/strong><\/h1>\n

      \"Anglerfish2\"<\/a>Deep sea anglerfish (Ceratoidea) are among the more interesting and unusual marine fishes, often referred to here in the lab as\u00a0“Disneyfish” because of their unusual morphologies.\u00a0This\u00a0new collaborative study is\u00a0spearheaded by Dr. Charles Blend<\/a>\u00a0and Dr. Ted Pietsch<\/a> to study the diversity of endohelminths in species of anglerfish from the North Pacific. We have examined species from ten different anglerfish families and are describing their internal parasites.<\/p>\n

      Selected publications and abstracts from this project:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
        \n
      1. \u00a0No publications or abstracts at this time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        For more publications, please visit the publications tab<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

         <\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Texas Freshwater Fish<\/strong><\/h1>\n

        Texas has an abundance of freshwater fishes with relatively well known parasite faunas. While we\u00a0have occasionally described new species, most of our research has\u00a0centered\u00a0on parasite ecology in a variety of freshwater fish families. These projects are considered complete, however if you are interested in a new collaboration, please contact me<\/a>.<\/p>\n

        Selected publications and abstracts from these projects:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
          \n
        1. Bhuthimethee, M., N. O. Dronen, and W. H. Neill. 2006. Metazoan parasite communities of sentinel bluegill cages in two urbanizing streams, San Antonio, Texas. Journal of Parasitology 91<\/strong>: 1358\u20131367.<\/li>\n
        2. Underwood, H.T. and N.O. Dronen. 1985. Endohelminths of fishes from the upper San Marcos River. Southwestern Naturalist 29<\/strong>: 377\u2013380.<\/li>\n
        3. Ingham, R.E. and N.O. Dronen. 1983. Some effects of seasonality on parasitic infection in largemouth bass, Micropterus<\/em> salmoides<\/em>, (Lacepede). Southwestern Naturalist 27<\/strong>: 223\u2013224.<\/li>\n
        4. Dronen, N.O., L.A. Rubec, and H.T. Underwood. 1982. Seasonal fluctuations in the population density of Alloglossidium<\/em> corti<\/em>, (Digenea: Macroderoididae) in channel catfish from the Little Brazos River, Texas. Southwestern Naturalist 27<\/strong>: 73\u201378.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          For more publications, please visit the publications tab<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

           <\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Red Sea & Mediterranean Sea\u00a0Fish<\/strong><\/h1>\n

          We currently have two ongoing\u00a0collaborative studies with universities in Egypt: one with Dr. Nahed El-Sayed Abdou<\/a> and\u00a0a second with Yasser Farhat<\/a>. These projects include\u00a0taxonomic descriptions of endohelminths from\u00a0a variety of\u00a0Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea\u00a0fish, including offshore commercial species\u00a0and nearshore parrotfishes.<\/p>\n

          Selected publications and abstracts from these projects:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
            \n
          1. Abdou, N. El-Sayad and N. O. Dronen. 2007. Studies on the juveniles of a species of Anisakis<\/em> (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from the orangespotted trevally, Carangoides bayad<\/em> (Carangidae) from the Red Sea, Egypt. Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology 37<\/strong>: 1\u201310.<\/li>\n
          2. Abdou, N. E., N. O. Dronen, and C. K. Blend. 2006. Karyakartia egyptensis<\/em> n. sp. (Digenea: Lepocreadiidae) from the Jarbua terapon, Terapon jarbua<\/em> (Forssk\u00e5l) (Perciformes: Terapontidae), from the Red Sea and emendation of Karyakartia<\/em>. Journal of Parasitology 92<\/strong>: 73\u201376.<\/li>\n
          3. Gray, E. A., N. O. Dronen, and C. K. Blend. 2003. Paracanthogalea egyptensis<\/em> n. gen., n. sp. (Digenea: Lepocreadiidae) from the Jarbua terapon Terapon jarbua <\/em>(Forssk\u00e5l) (Perciformes: Terapontidae) from the Red Sea. Presented at the Southwestern Association of Parasitologists Annual Meeting, Lake Texoma, Oklahoma, April 2003.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            For more publications, please visit the publications tab<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

             <\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            Marine Actinopterygii of India<\/strong><\/h1>\n

            My lab is\u00a0currently collaborating with Dr. Sandeep Malhotra<\/a> and Dr. Neeshma Jaiswal<\/a> on the endohelminths of marine fishes in India. Our research focuses on describing new parasite species from multiple\u00a0genera found in these bony fish\u00a0[i.e., Lepidapedon, Opechona<\/em>\u00a0(Digenea: Opecoelidae);\u00a0Siphoderina\u00a0<\/em>(Digenea: Cryptogonimidae);\u00a0Tormopsolus\u00a0<\/em>(Digenea: Acanthocolpidae);\u00a0an unknown hemiurid (Digenea: Hemiuridae); an unknown Caryophyllid (Cestoda: Caryophyllidea); and an unknown Bothriocephalid (Cestoda: Bothriocephalidae)].<\/p>\n

            Selected publications and abstracts from this project:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
              \n
            1. Dronen, N. O., C. K., Blend and A. Malhota. 2014. Keys to the species of Neolebouria <\/em>Gibson, 1976 (Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae). Systematic Parasitology 88<\/strong>: 213\u2013225.<\/li>\n
            2. Neesham, J., S. K. Upadhyay, A. Malhota, N. O. Dronen, C. K., Blend, and S. K. Malhota. 2014. A new species of Neolebouria <\/em>Gibson, 1976 (Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae) from the whitecheek monocle bream, Scolopsis vosmeri<\/em> (Perciformes: Nemipteridae), from the Panjim coast at Goa, with a checklist of parasites previously reported from this fish. Zootaxa\u00a03802:<\/strong>\u00a098\u2013108.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              For more publications, please visit the publications tab<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Texas Coastal Sharks The Texas recreational shark fishery consists mostly of three common coastal shark species,\u00a0the Atlantic Sharpnose (Rhizopriodon terrenovae), Blacktip (Carcharhinus limulatus)\u00a0and Bonnethead\u00a0(Sphyrna tiburo). By sampling these sharks as they come in to port, we have a great opportunity to conduct the first thorough examination of their gastrointestinal helminth communities, which can help\u00a0elucidate migration patterns,\u00a0verify stomach content analyses, and determine the\u00a0health status of these species. Selected publications and abstracts from this project: No publications or abstracts at this time. For more publications, please visit the publications tab…. Read More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1126,"featured_media":0,"parent":13,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFish - Laboratory of Parasitology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/parasitology\/research\/fish\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fish - Laboratory of Parasitology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Texas Coastal Sharks The Texas recreational shark fishery consists mostly of three common coastal shark species,\u00a0the Atlantic Sharpnose (Rhizopriodon terrenovae), Blacktip (Carcharhinus limulatus)\u00a0and Bonnethead\u00a0(Sphyrna tiburo). By sampling these sharks as they come in to port, we have a great opportunity to conduct the first thorough examination of their gastrointestinal helminth communities, which can help\u00a0elucidate migration patterns,\u00a0verify stomach content analyses, and determine the\u00a0health status of these species. Selected publications and abstracts from this project: No publications or abstracts at this time. For more publications, please visit the publications tab.... 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