Ecology of endoparasites of the fluvial stingray Potamotrygon falkneri (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae) from the upper Paraná River floodplain, Brazil

Abstract

present study had the objective to analyze P. falkneri and its endoparasites from the upper Paraná River floodplain, using the sex, the relative condition factor and the hepatosomatic relation of the hosts. Materials and Methods AbstractThe present study investigated the ecological relationships between endoparasites and the host Potamotrygon falkneri from the upper Paraná River by using as indicators the host's relative condition factor (Kn), sex and hepatosomatic relation (HSR). Forty-seven specimens of P. falkneri were analyzed between March 2005 and September 2006. Statistical analysis showed that the Kn was positively correlated with the abundance of Acanthobothrium regoi and Rhinebothrium paratrygoni; only the abundance of A. regoi was positively correlated to the HSR, whereas R. paratrygoni did not present correlation and there was no influence of the host's sex on the abundance and prevalence of parasites. This is the first study concerning the ecology of parasites of potamotrygonids.Keywords: potamotrygonids, parasites, relative condition factor, hepatosomatic relation, Paraná. Palavras-chave: potamotrigonídeos, parasitos, fator de condição relativo, relação hepatossomática, Paraná. Ecologia de endoparasitos da raia fluvial

Health assessment of grey mullet Mugil cephalus based on interrelationship between parasite co‐infections and relative condition factor

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Hematology and blood biochemistry profile of the freshwater stingray Potamotrygon magdalenae as a tool for population assessment in artificial environments

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Parasitic infection of Cobitis elongatoides Băcescu & Mayer, 1969 by zoonotic metacercariae Clinostomum complanatum (Rudolphi, 1814)

“…A higher prevalence (52.6%–100%) has been found in warmer climate areas of South America (Vianna, ) and Asia (Shareef & Abidi, ; Siddiqui & Nizami, ). During the hot summer, the larval stages of the parasite can find intermediate host much more easily in smaller bodies of water (Lacerda, Takemoto, & Pavanelli, ). Shallow habitats, more often present during the summer, are ideal for the definitive host—herons (Del Hoyo, Elliott, & Sargatal, ).…”