Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T04:38:49.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Metazoan parasite species richness in Neotropical fishes: hotspots and the geography of biodiversity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2007

J. L. LUQUE  and
R. POULIN
J. L. LUQUE
Affiliation:
Departamento de Parasitologia Animal, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Caixa Postal 74.508, CEP 23851-970, Seropédica, RJ, Brasil
R. POULIN*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand. Tel: +64 3 479 7983. Fax: +64 3 479 7584. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Although research on parasite biodiversity has intensified recently, there are signs that parasites remain an underestimated component of total biodiversity in many regions of the planet. To identify geographical hotspots of parasite diversity, we performed qualitative and quantitative analyses of the parasite-host associations in fishes from Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that includes known hotspots of plant and animal biodiversity. The database included 10 904 metazoan parasite-host associations involving 1660 fish species. The number of host species with at least 1 parasite record was less than 10% of the total known fish species in the majority of countries. Associations involving adult endoparasites in actinopterygian fish hosts dominated the database. Across the whole region, no significant difference in parasite species richness was detected between marine and freshwater fishes. As a rule, host body size and study effort (number of studies per fish species) were good predictors of parasite species richness. Some interesting patterns emerged when we included only the regions with highest fish species biodiversity and study effort (Brasil, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands). Independently of differences in study effort or host body sizes, Mexico stands out as a hotspot of parasite diversity for freshwater fishes, as does Brasil for marine fishes. However, among 57 marine fish species common to all 3 regions, populations from the Caribbean consistently harboured more parasite species. These differences may reflect true biological patterns, or regional discrepancies in study effort and local priorities for fish parasitology research.

Keywords

parasite biodiversitystudy efforthost body sizeBrasilMexicoCaribbean Islands
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 134 , Issue 6 , June 2007 , pp. 865 - 878
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aguilar-Aguilar, R., Contreras-Medina, R. and Salgado-Maldonado, G. (2003). Parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) of Mexican hydrological basins based on helminth parasites of freshwater fishes. Journal of Biogeography 30, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anon. (2000 a). Global Environment Outlook 2000. United Nations Environment Programme.Google Scholar
Anon. (2000 b). The Global Taxonomy Initiative: Using Systematic Inventories to Meet Country and Regional Needs. The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York.Google Scholar
Anon. (2003). Evaluation of the state of knowledge on biological diversity in Brazil. Executive summary. Ministry of the Environment of Brazil.Google Scholar
Boeger, W. A. and Kritsky, D. C. (2003). Parasites, fossils and geologic history: Historical biogeography of the South American freshwater croakers, Plagioscion spp. (Teleostei, Sciaenidae). Zoologica Scripta 32, 3–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouvier, M. E. L. (1897). Observations sur les “Argulides” du genre Gyropeltis recueillis par M. Geay au Vénézuela. Bulletin du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle 3, 13–19.Google Scholar
Boxshall, G. and Montú, M. (1997). Copepods parasitic on Brazilian coastal fishes: A handbook. Nauplius 5, 1–225.Google Scholar
Brooks, D. R. (2000). Parasite systematics in the 21st century: opportunities and obstacles. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 95 (Suppl. 1), 99–107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brooks, D. R. and Hoberg, E. P. (2000). Triage for the biosphere: The need and rationale for taxonomic inventories and phylogenetic studies of parasites. Comparative Parasitology 68, 1–25.Google Scholar
Bunkley-Williams, L. and Williams, E. H. Jr. (1994). Parasites of Puerto Rican Freshwater Sport Fishes. Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, San Juan, and Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez.Google Scholar
Caspeta-Mandujano, J. M. (2005). Nematode Parasites of Freshwater Fish in Mexico: Key to Species, Descriptions and Distribution. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.Google Scholar
Cribb, T. H. (1998). The diversity of the Digenea of Australian animals. International Journal for Parasitology 28, 899–911.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diesing, K. M. (1850). Systema Helminthum Vol. 1. W. Braumüller, Vindobonae.Google Scholar
Fischthal, J. H. (1977). Some digenetic trematodes of marine fishes from the barrier reef and reef lagoon of Belize. Zoologica Scripta 6, 81–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Froese, R. and Pauly, D. (2006). FishBase. World Wide Web Electronic Publication. www.fishbase.org, version (07/2006).Google Scholar
Garrido-Olivera, L., García-Prieto, L. and Pérez-Ponce de León, G. (2006). Checklist of the adult nematode parasites of fishes in freshwater localities from Mexico. Zootaxa 1201, 1–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
González, M. T. and Moreno, C. A. (2005). The distribution of the ectoparasite fauna of Sebastes capensis from the southern hemisphere does not correspond with zoogeographical provinces of free-living marine animals. Journal of Biogeography 32, 1539–1547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heller, C. (1865). Crustaceen. Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara und die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859. Zoologisher Theil 2, 1–280.Google Scholar
Heywood, V. H. (1995). Global Biodiversity Assessment. United Nations Environment Programme. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Kohn, A. and Cohen, S. C. (1998). South American Monogenea – list of species, host and geographical distribution. International Journal for Parasitology 28, 1517–1554.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kohn, A. and Pinto-Paiva, M. (2000). Fishes parasitized by Monogenea in South America. In Metazoan Parasites in the Neotropics: a Systematic and Ecological Perspective (ed. Salgado-Maldonado, G., Garcia, A. N. and Vidal-Martinez, V. M.), pp. 25–60. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, México D.F.Google Scholar
Kohn, A., Cohen, S. C. and Salgado-Maldonado, G. (2006). Checklist of Monogenea parasites of freshwater and marine fishes, amphibians and reptiles from Mexico, Central America and Caribbean. Zootaxa 1289, 1–114.Google Scholar
Krøyer, H. (1863). Bidrag til Kundskab om Snyltekrebsene. Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift (3)2, 75–426.Google Scholar
Lamothe-Argumedo, R., García-Prieto, L., Osorio-Sarabia, D. and Pérez-Ponce de León, G. (1997). Catálogo de la Colección Nacional de Helmintos. Instituto de Biología, Universidade Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.Google Scholar
Luque, J. L. (2004). Parasitologia de peixes marinhos na América do Sul: estado atual e perspectivas. In Sanidade de Organismos Aquáticos (ed. Ranzani-Paiva, M. J. T., Takemoto, R. M. and Lizama, M. A. P.), pp. 199–215. Varela, São Paulo.Google Scholar
Luque, J. L. and Poulin, R. (2004). Use of fish as intermediate hosts by helminth parasites: a comparative analysis. Acta Parasitologica 49, 353–361.Google Scholar
Luque, J. L., Mouillot, D. and Poulin, R. (2004). Parasite biodiversity and its determinants in coastal marine teleost fishes of Brazil. Parasitology 128, 671–682.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, T. E. and Margolis, L. (1995). Synopsis of the Parasites of Fishes of Canada Supplement (1978–93). Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, No. 122, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa.Google Scholar
Mejía-Madrid, H. H., Domínguez-Domínguez, O. and Pérez-Ponce de León, G. (2005). Adult endohelminth parasites of Goodeinae (Cyprinodontiformes: Goodeidae) from México with biogeographical considerations. Comparative Parasitology 72, 200–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morand, S. (2000). Wormy world: comparative tests of theoretical hypotheses on parasite species richness. In Evolutionary Biology of Host-Parasite Relationships: Theory Meets Reality (ed. Poulin, R., Morand, S. and Skorping, A.), pp. 63–79. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Moravec, F. (1998). Nematodes of Freshwater Fishes of the Neotropical Region. Academia, Praha, Czech Republic.Google Scholar
Morrone, J. J. (2004). Panbiogeografía, componentes bióticos y zonas de transición. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 48, 149–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrone, J. J. (2005). Hacia una síntesis biogeográfica de México. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 76, 207–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nahhas, F. M. and Cable, R. M. (1964). Digenetic and aspidogastrid trematodes from marine fishes of Curaçao and Jamaica. Tulane Studies in Zoology 11, 169–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nahhas, F. M. and Carlson, K. (1994). Digenetic trematodes of marine fishes of Jamaica, West Indies. The Hofstra University Marine Laboratory, Ecological Survey of Jamaica 2, 1–60.Google Scholar
Noronha, D., Frisso, A. and Mattos, F. B. (2003). Desenvolvimento de um banco de dados para a informatização da Coleção Helmintológica do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (CHIOC). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 20, 777–778.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pavanelli, G. C., Machado, M. H., Takemoto, R. M., Guidelli, G. M. and Lizama, M. A. P. (2004). Helminth fauna of fishes: diversity and ecological aspects. In The Upper Paraná River and its Floodplain: Physical Aspects, Ecology and Conservation (ed. Thomaz, S. M., Agostinho, A. A. and Hahn, N. S.), pp. 309–329. Backhuis Publishers, Leiden.Google Scholar
Pérez-Ponce de León, G. (2001). The diversity of Digeneans (Platyhelminthes: Cercomeria: Trematoda) in Vertebrates of Mexico. Comparative Parasitology 68, 1–8.Google Scholar
Pérez-Ponce de León, G. and Choudhury, A. (2002). Adult endohelminth parasites of ictalurid fishes (Osteichthyes: Ictaluridae) in Mexico: empirical evidence for biogeographical patterns. Comparative Parasitology 69, 10–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pérez-Ponce de León, G. and Choudhury, A. (2005). Biogeography of helminth parasites of freshwater fishes in Mexico: the search for patterns and processes. Journal of Biogeography 32, 645–659.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pérez-Ponce de León, G., García-Prieto, L. and Razo-Mendivil, U. (2002). Species richness of helminth parasites in Mexican amphibians and reptiles. Diversity and Distributions 8, 211–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pérez-Ponce de León, G., García-Prieto, L., Osorio-Sarabia, D. and León-Regagnon, V. (1996). Listados faunísticos de México VI. Helmintos parásitos de peces de aguas continentales de México. Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F.Google Scholar
Poulin, R. (1997). Species richness of parasite assemblages: evolution and patterns. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 28, 341–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poulin, R. (2004). Parasite species richness in New Zealand fishes: a grossly underestimated component of biodiversity. Diversity and Distributions 10, 31–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poulin, R. and Morand, S. (2004). Parasite Biodiversity. Smithsonian Books, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Rego, A. A. (2000). Cestodes parasites of Neotropical teleost freshwater fishes. In Metazoan Parasites in the Neotropics: a Systematic and Ecological Perspective (ed. Salgado-Maldonado, G., Garcia, A. N. and Vidal-Martinez, V. M.), pp. 135–154. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, México D.F.Google Scholar
Rego, A. A., Chubb, J. C. and Pavanelli, G. C. (1999). Cestodes in South American freshwater teleost fishes: keys to genera and brief description of species. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 16, 299–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodriguez-Ortiz, B., Garcia-Prieto, L. and Pérez-Ponce de León, G. (2004). Checklist of the helminth parasites of vertebrates in Costa Rica. Revista de Biologia Tropical 52, 313–354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salgado-Maldonado, G. (2006). Checklist of helminth parasites of freshwater fishes from Mexico. Zootaxa 1324, 1–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salgado-Maldonado, G., Cabañas-Carranza, G., Caspeta-Mandujano, J. M., Soto-Galera, E., Mayén-Peña, E., Brailovsky, D. and Baéz-Valé, R. (2001 a). Helminth parasites of freswater fishes of the Balsas River drainage, South Western Mexico. Comparative Parasitology 68, 196–203.Google Scholar
Salgado-Maldonado, G., Cabañas-Carranza, G., Soto-Galera, E., Caspeta-Mandujano, J. M., Moreno-Navarrete, R. G., Sánchez-Nava, P. and Aguilar-Aguilar, R. (2001 b). A checklist of helminth parasites of freswater fishes from the Lerma Santiago river basin, Mexico. Comparative Parasitology 68, 204–217.Google Scholar
Salgado-Maldonado, G., Mercado-Silva, N., Cabañas-Carranza, G., Caspeta-Mandujano, J. M., Aguilar-Aguilar, R. and Íniguez-Dávalos, L. I. (2004 a). Helminth parasites of freshwater fishes of the Ayuquila river, Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve, west Mexico. Comparative Parasitology 71, 67–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salgado-Maldonado, G., Cabañas-Carranza, G., Soto-Galera, E., Pineda-López, R., Caspeta-Mandujano, J. M., Aguilar-Castellanos, E. and Mercado-Silva, N. (2004 b). Helminth parasites of freshwater fishes of the Pánuco river basin, East Central Mexico. Comparative Parasitology 71, 190–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salgado-Maldonado, G., Aguilar-Aguilar, R., Cabañas-Carranza, G., Soto-Galera, E. and Mendoza-Palmero, C. (2005). Helminth parasites in freshwater fish from the Papaloapan river basin, Mexico. Parasitology Research 96, 69–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siddiqi, A. H. and Cable, R. M. (1960). Digenetic trematodes of marine fishes of Puerto Rico. NewYork Academy of Sciences 17, 257–369.Google Scholar
Sogandares-Bernal, F. (1959). Digenetic trematodes of marine fishes from the Gulf of Panama and Bimini, British West Indies. Tulane Studies in Zoology 7, 70–117.Google Scholar
Takemoto, R. M., Pavanelli, G. C., Lizama, M. A. P., Luque, J. L. and Poulin, R. (2005). Host population density as the major determinant of endoparasite species richness in floodplain fishes of the upper Paraná River, Brazil. Journal of Helminthology 79, 75–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thatcher, V. E. (2000). The isopod parasites of South American fishes. In Metazoan Parasites in the Neotropics: a Systematic and Ecological Perspective (ed. Salgado-Maldonado, G., Garcia, A. N. and Vidal-Martinez, V. M.), pp. 193–226. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, México D.F.Google Scholar
Thatcher, V. E. (2002). The isopods of South American fishes. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goldi, Série Zoologia 18, 77–199.Google Scholar
Thatcher, V. E. (2006). Amazon Fish Parasites. 2nd Edn. Pentsoft, Sofia-Moscow.Google Scholar
Timi, J. T. and Poulin, R. (2003). Parasite community structure within and across host populations of a marine pelagic fish: how repeatable is it? International Journal for Parasitology 33, 1353–1362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vicente, J. J. and Pinto, R. M. (1999). Nematóides do Brasil. Nematóides de peixes. Atualização: 1985–1998. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 16, 561–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vidal-Martinez, V. M. and Poulin, R. (2003). Spatial and temporal repeatability in parasite community structure of tropical fish hosts. Parasitology 127, 387–398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vidal-Martinez, V. and Salgado-Maldonado, G. (2000). Introduction. In Metazoan Parasites in the Neotropics: a Systematic and Ecological Perspective (ed. Salgado-Maldonado, G., Garcia, A. N. and Vidal-Martinez, V. M.), pp. 11–24. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, México D.F.Google Scholar
Vidal-Martínez, V., Aguirre-Macedo, L., Scholz, T., González-Solís, D. and Mendoza-Franco, E. (2001). Atlas of helminth parasites of cichlid fishes of Mexico. Academia (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic), Prague.Google Scholar
Walther, B. A., Cotgreave, P., Price, R. D., Gregory, R. D. and Clayton, D. H. (1995). Sampling effort and parasite species richness. Parasitology Today 11, 306–310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, E. H. Jr. and Bunkley-Williams, L. (1996). Parasites of offshore big gamefishes of Puerto Rico and the Western Atlantic. Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, San Juan, Puerto Rico and the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez.Google Scholar
Yamaguti, S. (1959). Systema Helminthum, Vol. II. The Cestodes of Vertebrates. Interscience Publishers, New York.Google Scholar
Yamaguti, S. (1961). Systema Helminthum, Vol. III. The Nematodes of Vertebrates. Interscience Publishers, New York.Google Scholar
Yamaguti, S. (1963 a). Systema Helminthum, Vol. IV. Monogenea and Aspidocotylea. Interscience Publishers, New York.Google Scholar
Yamaguti, S. (1963 b). Systema Helminthum, Vol. V. Acanthocephala. Interscience Publishers, New York.Google Scholar
Yamaguti, S. (1963 c). Parasitic Copepoda and Branchiura of Fishes. Interscience Publishers, New York.Google Scholar
Yamaguti, S. (1971). Synopsis of Digenetic Trematodes of Vertebrates. Parts I, II. Keigaku Publishing Company, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Young, P. S. (1998). Catalogue of Crustacea of Brazil. Museu Nacional, Série Livros No. 6. Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar