Community ecology of metazoan parasites of the anchovy Anchoa tricolor (Osteichthyes: Engraulidae) from the coastal zone of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Between October 2001 and March 2002, 103 specimens of A. tricolor from Angra dos Reis (23 degrees 01' S, 44 degrees 19' W), in the coastal zone of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were analyzed in order to study their metazoan parasite infracommunities. Ten species of metazoan parasites were collected: 4 digeneans, 1 cestode, 1 acantocephalan, 2 nematodes, 1 copepod, and 1 hirudinean; 77.7% of the fishes were parasitized by one or more metazoan, with a mean of 3.5 +/- 6.2 parasite/fish. Digenean was the most dominant with 4 species that accounted for 53.2% of the total parasites collected; Ergasilus sp. was the most abundant species. Abundance and prevalence of Parahemiurus merus (Linton, 1910) were positively correlated with the total length of host. Relationships between total body length of fish and both total parasite abundance and mean parasite species richness were observed. Mean parasite diversity of species was correlated to host's total length, with significant differences found between male and female fishes. Two pairs of larval species showed significant positive association and covariation. The metazoan parasite infracommunities of A. tricolor presented dominance of larval endoparasites; correlation of parasite abundance, diversity, and species richness with host total length; and low number of parasite interspecific relationships. The parasite community of A. tricolor showed some similarities with the parasite community of another South American Atlantic engraulid.

Anisakidae Skrjabin & Karokhin, 1945 and Raphidascarididae Hartwich, 1954 nematodes in lutjanidae (pisces: perciformes) from the Brazilian Northeast Coast

“…in O. chrysurus and L. jocu. Larvae of Terranova have been previously reported in other fish by other authors including Cordeiro and Luque (2004), , Tavares et al (2005) and Luque et al (2008) in Selene setapinnis, Netuma barba, Anchoa tricolor (Spix & Agassiz, 1829), Pseudopercis numida Miranda-Ribeiro, 1903, and P. semifasciata Cuvier, 1829, respectively. Cortes et al (2009 reported the genera Contracaecum sp.…”

Parasitic infections in the Mediterranean needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis (Teleostei: Belonidae) off Tunisian coast

“…Tavares [9]. The parasite fauna composition of T. acus imperialis differs totally from that of T. acus acus excepting copepods L. tylosuri, C. laciniatus and Caligus sp.…”

“…However, the quantitative aspect of parasites of T. acus imperialis has not previously been studied. In the Brazilian coast, Tavares et al studied the metazoan parasites of the Western Atlantic needlefish T. acus acus [9].…”

Community ecology of the metazoan parasites of the Atlantic thread herring, Opisthonema oglinum (Lesueur, 1818) (Actinopterygii: Clupeidae) from the Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…However, in the present study, parasitic richness was correlated with total host length, a correlation not previously detected in studies on parasitic clupeid communities off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. According to some authors, larger hosts are expected to harbor richer parasitic fauna, mainly because they provide a greater variety of niches, support a larger absolute number of parasites, and often undergo ontogenetic changes in their diet, suggesting that they may be exposed to a greater number of intermediate and/or paratenic hosts (Poulin, 1995(Poulin, , 2001aBush et al, 2001;Tavares et al, 2005).…”