Is Host Ectoparasite Load Related to Echeneid Fish Presence?

Mucientes, Gonzalo R.; Queiroz, Nuno; Pierce, Simon J.; Sazima, Ivan; Brunnschweiler, Juerg M.

doi:10.1155/2008/107576

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Is Host Ectoparasite Load Related to Echeneid Fish Presence?

Mucientes, Gonzalo R. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas, IIM-CSIC, Eduardo Cabello 6, 36208 Vigo, Spain
Queiroz, Nuno Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK
Pierce, Simon J. School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Sazima, Ivan Museu de Zoologia, IB, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970 Campinas, SP, Brazil
Brunnschweiler, Juerg M. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Raemistrasse 101, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland

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Research Letters in Ecology. - Hindawi Limited. - 2008, vol. 2008, p. 1-4

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

English This study used field data of echeneid and ectoparasite associations with free-swimming whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and captured mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus) to test whether (1) echeneid presence was positively correlated with ectoparasite presence; and (2) the number of ectoparasites was negatively correlated with the number of echeneid fish. Data from whale and mako sharks do not support the first hypothesis whereas data from mako sharks yields support for the second hypothesis. The results indicate that echeneids do regulate the number of ectoparasites on at least some host species, but these benefits may be contingent on the echeneid species.

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