Rev. biol. mar. oceanogr. 53(2): 209-221
Article

 

Parasite community of a temporal notothen fish from intertidal rocky pools in south-central Chile: Is it similar to other fish from the same habitat?

Gabriela Muñoz1*, Francisco Vildoso1 and Mario George-Nascimento2

1Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Valparaíso, Avenida Borgoño 16344, Viña del Mar, Chile
2Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Alonso de Ribera 2850, Concepción, Chile

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El 27 de febrero de 2010, la zona centro-sur de Chile (ca., 34-39°S) fue afectada por un terremoto de magnitud Mw= 8,8, localizándose el epicentro en Cobquecura (ca., 36°S), causando un levantamiento continental en las costas más cercanas a la fosa (i.e., Península de Arauco e Isla Santa María) y subsidencia en áreas costeras localizadas al norte de esas costas (Región del Maule). En este estudio se evaluó la hipótesis de que independientemente del grupo taxonómico, los organismos bentónicos intermareales adheridos al sustrato pueden ser utilizados como indicadores de levantamiento cosísmico continental. La metodología consistió en medir la altura del límite superior de las bandas de distribución de cada especie sobre el nivel de marea baja, a lo largo de la costa afectada por el terremoto. El alga calcárea Lithothamnium sp., el mitílido Perumytilus purpuratus y las macroalgas Mazzaella laminarioides y Lessonia spicata, son organismos bentónicos apropiados para describir el levantamiento continental cosísmico. Se sugiere que en estudios tendientes a evaluar este tipo de procesos tectónicos, se utilice más de una especie para tener una visión completa de tal proceso a lo largo de gradientes de deformación continental. Esto ya que, parte importante de las especies bentónicas de la costa rocosa no tienen distribución continúa, por lo que el uso de una sola especie puede resultar en conclusiones con bajo nivel de generalización.
Palabras clave: Levantamiento continental, organismos bentónicos, subsidencia

Notothen fishes (Nototheniidae) have been recorded on the coasts of South America, from 35°S to southern. Little is known about the biology of intertidal notothen fishes or their relationships with other species, including parasites. Here, we analyzed the parasitic fauna of a species of Notothenia collected from the rocky intertidal of Lebu, south-central Chile (36°S) and compared the parasite community of this host with other 9 fish species commonly found in intertidal rocky pools. Among the tested species, Notothenia sp. had the highest parasite richness (21 parasitic taxa vs. 1 to 9 parasitic taxa). The composition of parasite species was different among fishes, with similarity indices between 0 and 33%. The parasite composition of Notothenia sp. was most similar to Calliclinus geniguttatus (27%). The most abundant and prevalent parasites found in Notothenia sp. were the copepod Caligus cf. cheilodactyli, Tetraphyllidea larvae, anisakid nematodes, and several acanthocephalan species, which are typical of other fish from the subtidal and bento-demersal zones. Therefore, we conclude that the juveniles of Notothenia sp. were a few months old and had their parasites when reaching the intertidal zone, acquired some generalist parasites during their stay in this habitat, such as Holobomolochus chilensis and Lecithaster macrocotyle. Most notothen fishes are from Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic waters, therefore, it is possible that this fish came from another habitat but also from the austral region of South America. Notothenia sp. could not be specifically identified because of different results between morphological and genetic analyses.

Key words: Parasite communities, parasitic similarity, Notothenia, intertidal pools, Chilean coast

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