Metazoan parasite communities of the Pacific jack Caranx caninus (Pisces: Carangidae): exploring the variability of their parasite communities

ABSTRACT

An initial study was done of the metazoan parasite communities of Caranx caninus from the Pacific coast of Mexico. Parasite communities were characterised and analyses were done to determine if these experience spatial or temporal variations in structure and/or species composition. Four hundred ninety-two C. caninus were collected between April 2014 and December 2018 from four locations. Thirty-five metazoan parasite species were identified: 6 species of Monogenea, 12 Digenea, 1 Acanthocephala, 4 Nematoda, 10 Copepoda and 2 Isopoda. Monogeneans were the most frequent and abundant parasite species at all locations and in all years. Parasite species richness at the component community level varied significantly from 7 (San Blas 2017) to 22 (Acapulco 2018_a). The component communities and infracommunities of C. caninus exhibited similar patterns: low species numbers, low diversity, and dominance by a single species (the monogenean Protomicrocotyle manteri). Parasite community structure and species composition varied between locations and/or sampling years. Seasonal or local fluctuations in biotic and abiotic environmental factors were probably responsible for these variations.

KEYWORDS:

• Parasites
• marine fish
• Caranx caninus
• Pacific coast
• México

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the fishermen who caught the fish in each of the locations, as well as to the students of the Marine Ecology Academic Unit (UAGro) for their assistance with field, and laboratory work. Two anonymous reviewers provided useful comments that substantially improved this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.