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Parasite infracommunities of a specialized marine fish species in a compound community dominated by generalist parasites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2009

A.L. Lanfranchi ,
M.A. Rossin  and
J.T. Timi
A.L. Lanfranchi*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Laboratorio de Parasitología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Funes 3350, (7600)Mar del Plata, Argentina
M.A. Rossin
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Laboratorio de Parasitología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Funes 3350, (7600)Mar del Plata, Argentina
J.T. Timi
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Laboratorio de Parasitología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Funes 3350, (7600)Mar del Plata, Argentina
*
*Fax: +54 223 475-3150 E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The structure and composition of parasite communities of Mullus argentinae were analysed under two alternative hypotheses in a sample of 75 specimens caught off Mar del Plata, Argentina (38°27′S, 57°90′W). The first, based on the dominance of trophically transmitted larval parasites of low host-specificity among fish species in the region, predicts that infracommunities will be random subsets of regionally available species. The second, based on previous studies on other mullids, predicts that infracommunities will be dominated by adult digeneans. The parasite fauna of goatfishes was mainly composed of endoparasites, with metacercariae of Prosorhynchus australis accounting for most individual parasites and greatly affecting infracommunity descriptors. Its importance was reinforced by the low number of trophically transmitted larval parasites. Both hypotheses were refuted; parasite communities were not dominated either by trophically transmitted larval parasites of low host-specificity or by adult digeneans. Prosorhynchus australis was the only species displaying any degree of phylogenetic specificity. Therefore, the influence of phylogenetic factors seems to exceed that of ecological ones in determining the observed structure of infracommunities. However, it is precisely host ecology that allows P. australis to become the determinant of infracommunity structure by constraining the acquisition of other parasites. Studies aiming to determine the relative importance of evolutionary and ecological processes as structuring forces of parasite communities should take into account not only the identity and specificity of their component parasites, but also their availability in the compound community.

Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 83 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 373 - 378
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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