Spatial and Temporal Variability of Parasite Communities: Implications for Fish Stock Identification

Abstract

The spatial and temporal variability of parasite communities have received little attention when used as biological tags for identifying fish stocks. This study evaluated the potential spatial and temporal variability of the parasite communities affecting three marine fish species collected between 1993 and 2017. To avoid the potential effect of host age in parasite communities, individuals of similar ages were selected: 1123 Engraulis ringens (12–24 months old), 1904 Trachurus murphyi (24–36 months old), and 630 Merluccius gayi (36–48 months old). Most taxa show differences in the prevalence at the spatial and temporal scales, but the prevalence of some larval endoparasites remains constant at the temporal scale. At the spatial scale, an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed differences in the parasite communities of three species; a canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP) showed low values of correct allocations (CA; ≈50%) and values of allocation due to chance (AdC) were lower than the CA. At the temporal scale, an ANOSIM showed differences between the three species. A CAP showed low values of CA (≈50–60%) and the AdC was always lower than CA. Samples at the spatial scale were well allocated to their localities or nearby localities, suggesting a spatial stability. Samples from different years were not well discriminated, suggesting temporal variability. Therefore, in studies regarding parasites as a tool for stock identification, temporal variability must be taken into account.

Helminth Communities of Common Fish Species in the Coastal Zone off Crimea: Species Composition, Diversity, and Structure

“…Thus, in general, these component communities were characterized by a rather low diversity, but were well-ordered communities with a nested structure, as assessed by the NODF index ( Table 5 ). Stable parasite community structures, despite relatively low infection indices in fish hosts, have been also reported for other aquatic systems [ 35 , 111 , 112 , 113 ]. Moreover, similar results have recently been reported for two members of the family Sparidae ( Pagrus pagrus and Pagellus bogaraveo ) from the western Mediterranean Sea by Lablack et al [ 36 ], who found a homogeneous taxonomic composition of parasite communities for common taxa but not homogeneous for rare taxa (i.e., about the same as took place for Spicara smaris in the Crimean waters ( Figure 5 j)), suggesting a similar use of a common local pool of helminths.…”

“…As a result, classical diversity indices (Shannon, Pelou’s evenness, Berger–Parker, and others) have been involved in parasitological studies [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Helminth communities have been shown to vary spatially and temporally [ 35 , 36 ] depending on historical, biogeographical, and ecological factors [ 37 , 38 ], among which the total abundance and, therefore, the availability of potential hosts, has been recognized as being the most important [ 39 , 40 ]. Other significant factors driving fish parasite faunas are characteristics of the locality, predator–prey relationships, relationships between different phylogenetic groups of parasites, and stochastic processes across multiple scales and intensities [ 41 ].…”

A century of parasitology in fisheries and aquaculture

“…United States and Canadian mariculture industries similarly urged fish parasitologists to target L. salmonis in their research (Burka et al , 2012). The North American catfish farming industry (Engle et al , 2022) was also a cradle for aquaculture parasitology. Russian aquaculture dates back several centuries.…”

Review of the parasitic nematodes of marine fishes from off the American continent

“…(2022) observed similar results on parasites of clupeiform fish in South Atlantic, indicating that fish species is a strong determinant for parasite diversity, especially their diet composition and infection by endoparasites as nematodes, which are mostly transmitted by food chain links in marine environments (Lafferty, 2013). It should be highlighted that several approaches including parasite diversity estimations use parasites as biological tags for discriminating host populations from the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where nematodes always show representative richness in the parasite communities (Timi, 2003; Timi et al ., 2005, 2010; Braicovich and Timi, 2010; Canel et al ., 2019; Espínola-Novelo and Oliva, 2021).…”