Title:	Diversity of parasites in wild Astronotus ocellatus (Perciformes, Cichlidae), an ornamental and food fish in Brazil.
Authors:	TAVARES-DIAS, M. NEVES, L. R.
Affiliation:	MARCOS TAVARES DIAS, CPAF-AP; LIGIA R. NEVES, Unifap. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia.
Date Issued:	2017
Citation:	Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, v. 89, n. 3, Suppl. p. 2305-2315, 2017.
Description:	The community composition of parasites was characterized in Astronotus ocellatus from a tributary of the Amazon River, northern Brazil. The prevalence was 87.9%, and a total of 526,052 parasites were collected, with a mean of 15,941 parasites per host. Nine taxa of ecto- and endo-parasites were identified, but Ichthyophthirius multifiliis was the dominant species, while Piscinoodinium pillulare, Clinostomum marginatum and Argulus multicolor were the least prevalent parasites. The parasite community was characterized by a low species richness, low diversity and low evenness. Host body size was not found to influence the composition of the parasite community, and there was no significant correlation between abundance of any parasite species and host body size. Papers published concerning the presence of parasites in this host in different hydrographic basins within Brazil indicate that 22 species of parasites are known to infect A. ocellatus, including species of ectoparasites and endoparasites. In Brazil, ectoparasites species, particularly crustaceans, have been found to parasitize A. ocellatus in relatively high numbers. This predominance of ectoparasites is typical of fish of lentic ecosystems. Finally, the presence of different endoparasites taxa suggest that A. ocellatus acts as an intermediate or definitive host.
Thesagro:	Peixe de água doce Astronotus ocellatus
NAL Thesaurus:	Freshwater fish Amazonia
Keywords:	Ectoparasita Endoparasite Acara-açu Endoparasita Amazon Ectoparasite
DOI:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201720160700
Type of Material:	Artigo de periódico
Access:	openAccess
Appears in Collections:	Artigo em periódico indexado (CPAF-AP)