Experimental infection of macroplankton from Faroese waters with newly hatched Anisakis simplex larvae

Macroplankton from Faroese waters were exposed to newly hatched Anisakis simplex larvae, to describe modes of transmission in the early part of the parasitic life cycle. The species used in the experiments were: the crustaceans Calanus finmarchicus, C. hyperboreus, Thysanoessa sp., Meganychtiphanes norvegica and Parathemisto sp., the molluscs Clione limacina and Spiratella retroversa and the chaetognath Sagitta elegans. Only the euphausiacean Meganyctiphanes norvegica and the mollusc Spiratella retroversa were experimentally infected. As Meganyctiphanes norvegica has some importance as food for fishes like herring, saithe, cod and blue whiting, the finding may explain infection of these fishes with Anisakis simplex.