Metazoan parasites of Brama australis from southern Chile: a tool for stock discrimination?
Oliva, M.E.; Espinola, J.F.; Ñacari, L.A.
Journal of Fish Biology 88(3): 1143-1148
2016
ISSN/ISBN: 1095-8649 PMID: 26813161 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12881
Accession: 058302523
The metazoan parasites of 403 specimens of the southern ray's bream Brama australis from three localities in southern Chile (Lebu 36° 70' S; 73° 40' W, Calbuco 41° 50' S; 73° 08' W and Punta Arenas 53° 10' S; 70° 50' W) were recorded. More than 23 400 parasite specimens belonging to 12 taxa were registered. Metazoan parasites were dominated by the copepod Hatschekia conifera, constituting 97% of the total number of parasites; the larval cestode Hepatoxylon trichiuri was the second most important parasite (2·1% of the total number of parasites). The remaining 10 species constituted <1% of the metazoan parasites. Parasitological evidence, based on univariate and multivariate analysis, does not support the existence of discrete stocks in the studied zone.