Metazoan parasite community of blue sea catfish, Sciades guatemalensis (Ariidae), from Tres Palos Lagoon, Guerrero, Mexico.

Abstract

The seasonal dynamic of the metazoan parasite community of the blue sea catfish (Sciades guatemalensis) from Tres Palos Lagoon, Guerrero, Mexico, was studied at the component community and infracommunity levels. A total of 382 fish were collected during the regional dry and rainy seasons (a total of seven seasons) between April 2000 and September 2007. Nine helminths were collected: Neotetraonchus sp., Pseudoacanthostomum panamense, Austrodiplostomum compactum, Clinostomum complanatum, Metadena sp., Pseudoleptorhynchoides lamothei, Neoechinorhynchus cf. golvani, Hysterothylacium perezi, and Contracaecum sp. The infection dynamics of some dominant helminths was influenced by environmental changes generated by the dry/rainy season cycle. Nested (non-random) species composition was observed in the infracommunities during almost all of the sample period. Variation in the intensity of nestedness was attributed to a sequential colonization process over time by the dominant helminths.