Blood parasite biodiversity of reef-associated fishes of the eastern Caribbean

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 533:1-13 (2015) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11430 FEATURE ARTICLEBlood parasite biodiversity of reef-associated fishes of the eastern Caribbean Courtney A. Cook1, Paul C. Sikkel1,2, Lance P. Renoux2, Nico J. Smit1,* 1Water Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa 2Department of Biological Sciences and Environmental Sciences Program, Arkansas State University, State University, Arkansas, USA *Corresponding author: nico.smit@nwu.ac.za ABSTRACT: Parasitic micro-organisms can influence multiple ecological processes, from growth, mortality, and behavior, to community structure and trophic interactions, yet are typically ignored components of marine biodiversity. We collected 1298 blood samples from reef fishes off 6 eastern Caribbean islands, representing 27 families, 57 genera and 103 species, including invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish. Members of 14 species from 8 families were infected, comprising damselfishes (Pomacentridae), parrotfishes (Scaridae), mullet (Mugilidae), jacks (Caranjidae), Blennies (Blenneidae and Labrisomidae), snappers (Lutjanidae), and angelfishes (Pomacanthidae). None of the 8 distinct blood parasites found fit descriptions of other Caribbean parasites, but resembled typical Haemogregarina-like intraerythrocytic parasites and Haemohormidium-like parasites collected from fishes on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia. No blood parasites were found in lionfish and there was surprisingly little overlap in the families of Caribbean and GBR fishes. Most infected species were strongly diurnal. The high incidence of infection in Stegastes damselfishes was particularly surprising and has potentially important ecological consequences, given that damselfishes influence benthic community structure and are prey for reef piscivores. Gnathiid isopods, an apparent vector of apicomplexan blood parasites in other systems, were common at sampling sites and collected for use in transmission experiments. Haemogregarina-like parasites were taken up by gnathiids that fed on infected blennies. By comparison, when gnathiids fed on Stegastes damselfish infected with a Haemohormidium-like parasite, no parasites were found. This study reveals the high biodiversity of haemoparasites infecting eastern Caribbean reef fishes, and highlights the need for additional research throughout the Caribbean and in other tropical reef systems. KEY WORDS: Coral reefs · Marine reserves · Recovery rates · Spatial comparisons · Temporal monitoring · Philippines Full text in pdf format Information about this Feature Article Supplementary material NextCite this article as: Cook CA, Sikkel PC, Renoux LP, Smit NJ (2015) Blood parasite biodiversity of reef-associated fishes of the eastern Caribbean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 533:1-13. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11430Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 533. Online publication date: August 06, 2015 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2015 Inter-Research.