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Metazoan ectoparasites of Atlantic mackerel, Scomber scombrus (Teleostei: Scombridae): macro- and microhabitat distribution

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Abstract

Parasites are affected by the environment where their hosts live, having a specific distribution among their hosts and occupying a well-defined microhabitat. The present work aims to describe the metazoan ectoparasite fauna of Scomber scombrus, namely its distribution at the macro- and microhabitat levels. For that, fish from two different Portuguese regions, Matosinhos (n = 40) and Figueira da Foz (n = 39), were examined for macroectoparasites. S. scombrus of Matosinhos presented four different parasite species, whilst fish from Figueira da Foz presented five species. All parasites belonged to Monogenea, Copepoda, or Isopoda. The main differences between infection levels of fish from the two localities were found in Grubea cochlear (higher infection levels in Matosinhos) and Caligus pelamydis (where the highest values were found in Figueira da Foz). Regarding the microhabitat of the reported ectoparasites, it could be seen that every species has a very specific distribution within the host: G. cochlear and Kuhnia scombri have a preference for the inner medial areas of gills, Kuhnia sprostonae for the pseudobranchs, and C. pelamydis for the internal wall of opercula. The numerical and functional responses to interspecific competition were absent. These results support the idea that the parasite driving forces of community structure are the reinforcement of reproductive barriers and the enhancement of chances to mate.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia with the projects CIIMAR/C2008/BII-11/2010, FCOMP-01-0124-307 FEDER-020726 (Refª FCT PTDC/MAR/116838/2010), and PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2013.

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  1. CIMAR—Laboratório Associado, CIIMAR—Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Ricardo Castro & Maria João Santos

  2. Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, s/n, FC4, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal

    Ricardo Castro & Maria João Santos

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  1. Ricardo Castro
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Correspondence to Maria João Santos.

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Castro, R., Santos, M.J. Metazoan ectoparasites of Atlantic mackerel, Scomber scombrus (Teleostei: Scombridae): macro- and microhabitat distribution. Parasitol Res 112, 3579–3586 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-013-3543-8

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