Biologie du copepode Lernaeenicus sprattae Sowerby, 1806) et ses actions pathogenes sur les populations de sardines des cotes du Languedoc-Roussillon.

Lernaeenicus sprattae is a blood-feeding copepod parasite of the pilchard, Sardian pilchardus . The larval stages of L. sprattae attach to the skin or the fins of the larval fish when the fish enter the lagoons. The mature, and in some cases ovigerous females of L.sprattae seek out the base of the fins or directly implant in the eye of juvenile or adult pilchards. The copepod has a particularly serious effect at the site of infection: its feeding has a severe effect on the fish. The pilchard returns to its breeding grounds in the open sea at the end of summer; this migration allows the copepod to complete its reproductive cycle and a new cycle of infestation is able to begin.