Abstract
This study was the first investigation of communities and infracommunities of parasites of Hemibrycon surinamensis. All the fish collected in a tributary of the Amazon river were parasitized by one or more parasite species. The Brillouin diversity index (HB) was 0.46 ± 0.28 and the mean species richness was 3.5 ± 1.2 parasites per host. A total of 14,734 parasites were collected, including Ichthyophthirius multifiliis and Piscinoodinium pillulare (Protozoa); Jainus hexops and Tereancistrum sp. (Monogenoidea); Ergasilus turucuyus and Argulus sp. (Crustacea); metacercariae of Derogenidae gen. sp.; metacercariae and adults of Genarchella genarchella (Digenea); and Cucullanus larvae and Contracaecum larvae (Nematoda). The dominant parasite was I. multifiliis, followed by P. pillulare. The parasites showed aggregated dispersion, except for E. turucuyus, which had random dispersion. The condition factor (Kn) indicated that the parasitism levels had not affected host body condition. The high levels of infection observed were due to host behavior, and this was discussed. This was the first report of I. multifiliis, P. pillulare, Argulus sp., E. turucuyus, G. genarchella, J. hexops and Tereancistrum sp. in H. surinamensis, and it expanded the occurrence of E. turucuyus and G. genarchella to the eastern Amazon region.
Highlights
The Neotropical freshwater fish fauna has the highest diversity and species richness in the world (AZEVEDO, 2010)
The high levels of infection observed were due to host behavior, and this was discussed. This was the first report of I. multifiliis, P. pillulare, Argulus sp., E. turucuyus, G. genarchella, J. hexops and Tereancistrum sp. in H. surinamensis, and it expanded the occurrence of E. turucuyus and G. genarchella to the eastern Amazon region
Hemibrycon surinamensis Géry, 1962, the species that forms the focus of the present study, is only distributed in South America: in coastal basins of French Guiana and Suriname, and in the basins of the Tapajós, Tocantins and Xingu rivers in Brazil (REIS et al, 2003; BERTACO; MALABARBA, 2010; FROESE; PAULY, 2013)
Summary
The Neotropical freshwater fish fauna has the highest diversity and species richness in the world (AZEVEDO, 2010). Hemibrycon surinamensis Géry, 1962, the species that forms the focus of the present study, is only distributed in South America: in coastal basins of French Guiana and Suriname, and in the basins of the Tapajós, Tocantins and Xingu rivers in Brazil (REIS et al, 2003; BERTACO; MALABARBA, 2010; FROESE; PAULY, 2013). These fish have benthopelagic behavior; the males reach a maximum length of 8.0 cm and the females, 9.1 cm (FROESE; PAULY, 2013). This unique ecosystem is rich in aquatic vegetation, especially macrophytes (THOMAZ et al, 2004), and its lowland areas are widely used for shelter and food by many fish, including H. surinamensis
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