Distribution pattern of crustacean ectoparasites of freshwater fish from Brazil

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to use the informations relating to parasite crustaceans species that was published over the course of one century (1913 to 2013), in order to search for infestation and distribution patterns among these ectoparasites in Brazilian freshwater fish species. This search was carried out on 445 samples of 119 host fish of 27 families within the orders Characiformes, Perciformes, Clupeiformes, Mugiliformes, Osteoglossiformes, Symbranchiformes, Tetraodontiformes and Siluriformes from various regions of Brazil. We organized different host-parasite systems into matrices grouping species at different taxonomic and infestation levels and according to host parameters. Five families of parasites (Ergasilidae, Argulidae, Lernaeidae, Lernaeopodidae and Cymothoidae) distributed into 76 species of 27 genera were analyzed in the host samples, which presented dominance of Ergasilidae species, mainly from the genus Ergasilus. Some crustaceans are host and site-specific, especially in relation to fish in particular habitats and lifestyles (e.g. Perulernaea gamitanae, Anphira branchialis and Riggia paranensis), while other parasites frequently have no preference (e.g. Lernaea cyprinacea and Braga patagonica). We found broadly similar distribution patterns for some crustacean species among the different localities, whereas other species showed well-defined geographical patterns, and these findings were discussed.Keywords: Amazon, Branchiura, Copepoda, host, Isopoda, parasite. ResumoO objetivo deste estudo foi utilizar as informações relacionadas com espécies de crustáceos parasitas, que foram publicados durante um século (1913 a 2013), para procurar padrões de infestação e distribuição desses ectoparasitos em espécies de peixes de água doce do Brasil. Esta pesquisa foi realizada em 445 amostras de 119 peixes hospedeiros de 27 famílias de Characiformes, Perciformes, Clupeiformes, Mugiliformes, Osteoglossiiformes, Symbranchiformes, Tetraodontiformes e Siluriformes das diversas regiões do Brasil. Foram organizados em matrizes de agrupamento diferentes sistemas parasito-hospedeiros em diferentes níveis taxonômicos, níveis de infestação e parâmetros dos hospedeiros. Cinco famílias (Ergasilidae, Argulidae, Lernaeidae, Lernaeopodidae e Cymothoidae) de parasitos, distribuídos em 76 espécies de 27 gêneros, foram analisados em amostras dos hospedeiros, que apresentaram dominância de espécies Ergasilidae principalmente do gênero Ergasilus. Alguns crustáceos são hospedeiros e sítios-específicos no hospedeiro, especialmente peixes de determinados hábitat e estilo de vida (por exemplo, Perulernaea gamitanae, Anphira branchialis e Riggia paranensis), enquanto outros parasitos não têm qualquer preferência (por exemplo, Lernaea cyprinacea e Braga patagonica). Foram encontrados padrões muito semelhantes na distribuição de algumas espécies de crustáceos entre as diferentes localidades, enquanto outras espécies mostraram um padrão geográfico bem definido, o que foi discutido aqui.

First study on communities of parasites in Triportheus rotundatus, a Characidae fish from the Amazon River system (Brazil)

“…Moreover, low species richness, low Brillouin diversity, low evenness, a high diversity of endoparasites species, and overdispersion of parasites characterized this parasitic community. Many parasite species commonly show overdispersion in different host fish (COSTA-PEREIRA et al, 2014;TAVARES-DIAS et al, 2015;OLIVEIRA et al, 2016), due to processes that produce variability in host exposure, host acceptability by the parasite and host immune response. For Triportheus nematurus from Pantanal Matogrossense (Brazil) 1 species of Monogenoidea, 3 Nematoda and 1 Copepoda were reported, being Anacanthorus sp.…”

“…The abundance and diversity of the invertebrate fauna are also key components in the formation of a parasite community in fish populations (MOREIRA et al, 2009;MORLEY, 2012;TAVARES-DIAS et al, 2015). Moreover, environments with abundance of aquatic vegetation (e.g.…”

“…However, Ergasilus spp. have infested species of Characidae, Pimelodidae, Anostomidae and Cichlidae from the Amazon (TAVARES-DIAS et al, 2015;TABORDA et al, 2016). Twenty-two freshwater species of Ergasilus are known from the gills of Neotropical fish (TABORDA et al, 2016).…”

<b>Host-parasite interaction between crustaceans of six fish species from the Brazilian Amazon

“…In Brazil, 136 species of crustaceans are listed for parasitizing freshwater fish, most of which are Copepoda (about 60%), followed by Isopoda (about 20%) and Banchiura (about 20%) (Luque, Vieira, Takemoto, Pavanelli, & Eiras, 2013). Some crustacean species are host and site-specific, whereas other parasites frequently have no preference (Hoshino, Hoshino, & Tavares-Dias, 2014;Tavares-Dias, Dias-Júnior, Florentino, Silva, & Cunha, 2015) due to the evolution in the host-parasite relationship (Morley, 2007). Several species have a wide distribution pattern at different localities, whereas others develop Acta Scientiarum.…”

AS ESPÉCIES DE ISOPODA (CRUSTACEA: CYMOTHOIDEA) PARASITAS DE SERRASALMUS ALTISPINIS MERCKX, JÉGU & SANTOS, 2000 (CHARACIFORMES: SERRASALMIDAE) COLETADAS EM LAGOS DE VÁRZEA DA AMAZÔNIA, BRASIL

“…Em peixes da família Serrasalmidae o Isopoda Amphira branchialis foi registrado em P. nattereri (Thatcher, 1993;Carvalho et al, 2004;Vital et al, 2011;Morais, 2012, Tavares-Dias et al, 2015, em S. spilopleura e em Serrasalmus sp. (Thatcher, 1993, Tavares-Dias et al, 2015.…”