Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 82 (1): 63-71, 2009
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Parasite infracommunities of two blennid species, Scartichthys (Pisces:
Blenniidae), at nearby localities off northern Chile
The infracommunities of metazoan parasites in two congeneric and sympatric marine
fish species, Scartichthys viridis (Valenciennes 1836) and Scartichthys gigas (Steindachne 1876), were
studied and compared between three localities of the intertidal rocky shore off the coast of northern Chile, near Iquique (20º32’ S,
70º11’ W), which were separated by no more than 6 km. Samples were collected between August and September 2005. The goal of
this study was to assess the variability in richness, abundance, diversity, dominance and parasite composition between close localities
sampled within a short period. In all, 2,110 parasite individuals were collected from the 134 hosts examined, and 14 parasite taxa were
identified. There was great similarity in the aggregated and compositional properties of the infracommunities, both between host
species, as well as among study sites. We interpret these results as indicating that ecological factors such as habitat use and dietary
composition, and evolutionary factors, such as the close relatedness between Scartichthys species are the main causes
influencing the high similarity found in parasite communities of these fish species.
Key words:
parasite
infracommunities, Scartichthys viridis, Scartichthys gigas, Chile
