Host size- and habitat-dependent intensity of Heliconema longissimum (Nematoda: Physalopteridae) in the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica).

Heliconema longissimum (Ortlepp, 1923) is an ecologically poorly known nematode found in the stomach of Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica Temminck and Schlegel. The occurrence of this nematode in Japanese eels was surveyed in 2 contiguous brackish-water areas (Misho Cove and the lower Renjoji River) of Ehime Prefecture, western Japan, during April 2008 to March 2009. The factors associated with the nematode intensity were also assessed by applying generalized additive models (GAM). Heliconema longissimum exhibited nearly 100% prevalence in both areas, but its intensity differed. The heavier infection in the cove eels indicates that H. longissimum is mainly distributed in the cove, which supports the past speculation for this nematode as a brackish-water parasite. The intensity also increased with the body size of eels. This tendency suggests that the eels inhabiting the cove consume, as they grow, a greater quantity of crustaceans that presumably serve as the nematode's intermediate hosts.