Metazoan Parasite Infracommunities in Five Sciaenids from the Central Peruvian Coast

Abstract

Key words: marine sciaenids -parasite community -diversity -Peruvian coastThe structure of the metazoan parasite community of fish, like that of other vertebrates and invertebrates, has recently attracted some attention. The first definition of a parasitic community was given by Cloutman (1975) who said that it is "the complex of individuals belonging to the different parasite species inhabiting a host". Studies focusing on the structure of parasite communities in marine fish, in terms of diversity, are scarce. There are few papers that consider the parasite community in fishes in terms of both endo and ectoparasites (Thoney 1991, Luque & Oliva 1993a, Campos & Carbonell 1994, Luque 1994, Molloy et al. 1995, Groenewold et al. 1996, Kennedy & Pojmanska 1996 and only one (Campos & Carbonell 1994) analyzed the community structure in terms of diversity. The goal of this paper is to develop an analysis of community structure in five sciaenids from the Peruvian coast. This is the first paper that analyzes five related host species in this manner. MATERIALS AND METHODSNine hundred and sixty-eight sciaenids (237 Menticirrhus ophicephalus, 124 Paralonchurus peruanus, 249 Sciaena deliciosa, 50 Sciaena fasciata and 308 Stellifer minor) were examined + Corresponding

Metazoan parasite fauna of the bigeye flounder, Hippoglossina macrops, from Northern Chile. Influence of host age and sex

“…The parasite success in the deep sea is directly related to the abundance and diversity of hosts in the benthic community (Campbell et al 1980, Oliva & Luque 1998, therefore, the parasite richness is correlated with the diversity of free-living fauna in a certain area (Poulin 1995). The narrowness of the continental shelf in this geographical area has also been considered as an important abiotic factor that explains this phenomenon (Oliva 1999).…”

Metazoan parasites of the jack mackerelTrachurus murphyi(Teleostei, Carangidae) in a latitudinal gradient from South America (Chile and Peru)

“…This must be true for those studies that imply samples for only one geographical locality independent of the host latitudinal range (i.e. Oliva, 1994;Gonzalez & Acuña, 1998;Oliva & Luque, 1998). In this paper, is demonstrated that the poor fauna of adult intestinal endohelminth parasites of the jack mackerel remains along more than 30° of latitudinal gradient.…”

“…A characteristic of marine fishes from Chile and Perú is the sparse of their parasite fauna (metazoa), when compared with related fishes from different geographical areas; this phenomena has been documented for the flatfish Paralichthys adpersus by Oliva et al (1996), the rock fish Sebastes capensis by Gonzalez & Acuña (1998) Luque (1998). In the main, differences are related to trophically transmitted parasites, specifically digeneans.…”

“…PFP includes the central and southern Peruvian coast and the northern and central Chilean coast, with a southern boundary ca. 30° S (Brattstrôm & Johanssen, 1983;Mac Lean, 1984) and is characterized by océanographie processes such as upwelling and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (see Oliva & Luque, 1998). …”

“…T he knowledge of the parasite fauna of marine fishes from Chile and Peru at communitary levels, has increased in the last years (see for instance Gonzalez &Acuna, 1998 for Chile andOliva &Luque, 1998 for Peru). Studies have focused, primarily, on marine fishes of economic importance, such as hakes (Merluccius spp.)…”