Helminth Parasites of Chapalichthys encaustus (Pisces: Goodeidae), an Endemic Freshwater Fish From Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico

Abstract

A total of 6 helminth species were recorded during helminthological examination of 50 Chapalichthys encaustus from Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. Helminth species identified included: Salsuginus sp. (an undescribed monogenea); Posthodiplostomum minimum (metacercariae); Cyclustera ralli (metacestode); Polymorphus brevis (cystacanth); Contracaecum sp. (nematode larvae); and Rhabdochona lichtenfelsi (adult nematode). Of these, 2 (Salsuginus sp. and R. lichtenfelsi) are specialist species. The observed species richness, individual parasite abundance, and diversity were low. Data suggest that host specificity is an important factor contributing to observed community composition and richness. Host feeding habits and helminth species availability seem to determine the characteristics of these helminth assemblages.

Helminth parasites of the pupfish Cyprinodon meeki (Pisces: Cyprinodontiformes), an endemic freshwater fish from North-Central Mexico

“…For this reason, the helminth community structure described in this work corresponds to a particular point in time and space. The helminth community of C. meeki exhibits low values of species richness at both, the component community and infracommunity levels, and it is in accordance to those recorded for other freshwater fishes in the Nearctic part of Mexico as Alloophorus robustus, Goodea atripinnis, Allotoca diazi, Chapalichthys encaustus, Characodon audax, Chirostoma attenautum and Chirostoma humboldtianum (EspinosaHuerta et al, 1996;Astudillo-Ramos and Soto-Galera, 1997;Rojas et al, 1997; Pérez-Ponce de León et al, 2000;Martínez-Aquino et al, 2004, 2007. A second characteristic shared among the helminth community of C. meeki, and those exhibited by other freshwater fishes occurring in Central and North-Central Mexico, is the numerical dominance by a few numbers of species.…”

“…A second characteristic shared among the helminth community of C. meeki, and those exhibited by other freshwater fishes occurring in Central and North-Central Mexico, is the numerical dominance by a few numbers of species. However, unlike previous records (Pérez-Ponce de León et al, 2000;Martínez-Aquino et al, 2004, 2007) the generalist larval trematode P. minimum was not the dominant species in C. meeki. In this study, the specialist acanthocephalan A. duranguensis seems to be the only dominant species at both, infracommunity and component community levels.…”

“…Except for some cases as the goodeid Characodon lateralis, where the poorest helminth communities have been recorded (Mejía-Madrid et al, 2005;Martínez-Aquino et al, 2007), the data suggest that the helminth composition, and the process involved in the structure of helminth communities are common in those fishes occurring in water bodies of Central and Northern Mexico. This work confirms the depauperate and dominated nature of the helminth assemblages of fishes inhabiting in epicontinental waters in the Nearctic part of Mexico (Espinosa-Huerta et al, 1996;Rojas et al, 1997;Choudhury and Dick, 2000; Pérez-Ponce de León et al, 2000;Martínez-Aquino et al, 2004, 2007Sánchez-Nava et al, 2004), and also suggest that host feeding habits, along with its role as intermediate host for allogenic helminth species, seem to be the main factors determining the helminth community structure. Additional studies for other fish species are necessary to establish patterns and processes involved in the conformation of these helminth assemblages, considering host diet, invasion for exotic helminth species, availability of intermediate hosts and environmental characteristics.…”

“…6001), might be a factor for the conservation of the host, since that some authors consider it as a potential threat for native freshwater fishes, because its abundance and pathogenicity (Salgado-Maldonado and Pineda-López, 2003). The helminth species herein recorded for C. meeki are not very different from the species found in other cyprinodontiform fishes in Central and Northern Mexico (Peresbarbosa- Rojas et al, 1994; Pérez-Ponce de León et al, 2000;Martínez-Aquino et al, 2004, 2007Sánchez-Nava et al, 2004), and even from other fish species such as the atherinomorphs (Espinosa-Huerta, et al, 1996;Astudillo-Ramos and Soto-Galera, 1997). This can be explained for the nature of the bodies of water where these fishes inhabit, conformed mainly by endorreic springs and lakes were many allogenic species are transported by fish-eating reptiles and birds.…”

Molecular phylogeny of the genusMargotrema(Digenea: Allocreadiidae), parasitic flatworms of goodeid freshwater fishes across central Mexico: species boundaries, host-specificity, and geographical congruence

“…The diversification of this fish group is the result of complex geological events that have been taking place since the Miocene in central Mexico, as a result of hydro‐geomorphological changes that influenced the orography of this area. Goodeinae represents one of the freshwater fish groups that have been studied intensively from the parasitological point of view (Peresbarbosa‐Rojas, Pérez‐Ponce de Léon & García‐Prieto, ; Pérez‐Ponce de León et al ., ; Martínez‐Aquino et al ., , , , , ; Sánchez‐Nava et al ., ; Mejía‐Madrid, Domínguez‐Domínguez & Pérez‐Ponce de León, ). Their helminth parasite faunas consist of 40 species (Pérez‐Ponce de León & Choudhury, ; Martínez‐Aquino et al ., , ).…”