Temporal and spatial variations in the metazoan parasite communities of the Panama spadefish,Parapsettus panamensis(Pisces: Ephippidae), from the Pacific coast of Mexico

Abstract

AbstractIn the tropics, variations in the structure and species composition of marine fish parasite communities over several years have received limited attention. Changes in water temperature in the tropics are not as extreme as in temperate climes, and the processes that generate variations in these parasite communities are as yet unclear. The parasite communities in populations ofParapsettus panamensisfrom four locations on the south‐central Pacific coast of Mexico were quantified and analyzed. Four hundred forty‐six fish were collected over a 6‐year period (2012; 2013; 2016a,b; and 2017). Twenty‐three metazoan parasite species were recovered and identified: three species of Monogenea (present as adults); eight species of Digenea (adults); one species of Acanthocephala (juveniles); one species of Cestoda (larvae); three species of Nematoda (two present as adults and one present as larvae); four species of Copepoda; and three species of Isopoda (two present as adults, and one present as larvae). At the component community level, parasite species richness varied significantly from 10 (Marquelia 2016) to 17 species (Acapulco Bay 2012). The component communities and infracommunities ofP. panamensisexhibited a similar pattern: low species numbers, low diversity, and dominance by a single parasite species. Parasite community structure and species composition varied between sampling years and locations. The main factors responsible for these variations were host traits such as feeding behavior and body size, and occurrence of a set of distinctive parasite species.