Impact of ectoparasites on the demography of a small reef fish

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 248:305-309 (2003) - doi:10.3354/meps248305 Impact of ectoparasites on the demography of a small reef fish Rachel J. Finley*, Graham E. Forrester Department of Biological Sciences, 100 Flagg Road, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881-0816, USA *Email: rpet3012@postoffice.uri.edu ABSTRACT: In marine systems, empirical studies demonstrating effects of macroparasites on host population dynamics are relatively few. We tested the effects of a copepod macroparasite infecting the gills of a small coral reef fish, the bridled goby Coryphopterus glaucofraenum. Fish that were naturally infected and uninfected were tagged as individuals and tracked in the field for 5 mo. Parasitism was associated with an increase in gill ventilation rate, and a reduction in feeding. More importantly, parasitized fish showed significantly reduced growth (by 66%) and gonad mass (by 68%) compared to uninfected fish, and parasitism increased instantaneous mortality by a factor of 1.8. Since the prevalence of infection was higher in areas of high goby density, parasite-induced mortality is a possible cause of host density dependence. These results imply a major effect of parasitism on host population dynamics and suggest that parasitism warrants closer attention by marine ecologists. KEY WORDS: Pharodes tortugensis · Coryphopterus glaucofraenum · Host-parasite interaction · Parasitic gill copepod Full text in pdf format PreviousExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 248. Online publication date: February 20, 2003 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2003 Inter-Research.