Data from: Widespread infection of Areospora rohanae in southern king crab (Lithodes santolla) populations across south Chilean Patagonia

Cottage cheese disease is caused by microsporidian parasites that infect a
wide range of animal populations. Despite its potential to affect
economically important activities, the spatial patterns of prevalence of
this disease are still not well understood. Here, we analyze the
occurrence of the microsporidian Areospora rohanae in populations of the
king crab Lithodes santolla over ca. 800 km of the southeastern Pacific
shore. In winter 2011, conical pots were deployed between 50 and 200 m
depth to capture crabs of a wide range of sizes. The infection was widely
distributed along the region, with a mean prevalence of 16 %, and no
significant association between prevalence and geographic location was
detected. Males, females, and ovigerous females showed similar prevalence
values of 16.5 (13 – 18.9), 15 (9.2 – 15), and 16.7 % (10 – 19 %),
respectively. These patterns of prevalence were consistent across crab
body sizes, despite the ontogenetic and sex-dependent variations in
feeding behavior and bathymetric migrations previously reported for king
crabs. This study provided the first report of the geographic distribution
of A. rohanae infecting southern king crabs.