Abstract:
The extreme environment creates a unique biome in Antarctica, with Southern Ocean fish being the most diverse vertebrate and intermediate and final host of many parasites. The parasite ecology, biogeography, and parasite-host relationship in the Southern Ocean have received little attention, despite the abundance of parasites in Antarctic fish and an important component of the region's marine biodiversity. Studies have been conducted on the parasites of Antarctic fish, but those studies are mainly focus on species identification, fauna investigation and histopathology. Studies of parasites in Antarctic fish have mainly focused on species identification, fauna surveys and histopathology. Therefore, this review summarizes the progress about parasites in the Antarctic fish in the past over one century, mainly focusing on the species composition and host’s geographical distribution of the three main parasites in Antarctic fish, i.e., nematodes, cestodes and parasitic copepods. Generally, to survive in the Antarctic region, parasites must either closely associate with their hosts throughout the entire life cycle or develop physiological adaptations to survive in the marine habitat. For nematodes, 13 species from 9 genera and 3 orders, i.e., Spirurida, Ascaridida and Enoplida, are observed in Antarctic fishes. For cestodes, 15 species from 4 orders, i.e., Tetraphyllidea, Diphyllidea, Bothriocephalidea and Diphyllobothriidea, occur in Antarctic fishes. For copepods, 8 species from 3 orders, i.e., Siphonostomatoida, Cyclopoida and Lernaeopodidae, use Antarctic fishes as hosts. Antarctic mammalian parasites were found to utilize fish, especially the nototheniids and channichthyids, as a common transmission route into their final hosts. The perspectives on parasites of Antarctic fish provide scientific reference to understand the diversity of parasite in Antarctic fishes and the relationship between Antarctic fish and extreme environment.