Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 82 (2): 199-207, 2009
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Variability of metazoan parasite communities in the rock cod Eleginops maclovinus
(Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1830) (Pisces: Eleginopidae) off Chile
Comparison of variations in both chronological time and space is one of the least studied
subjects in the ecology of parasite communities. Thus, we compared the abundance, richness and composition of parasite
infracommunities in the rock cod Eleginops maclovinus (Cuvier & Valenncienes, 1830) (Pisces: Eleginopidae),
between three widely separated localities along south-central Chile (Talcahuano, Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas), which were
sampled in two different years each. Eighteen parasite taxa were taxonomically determined in the 126 hosts examined. Total
abundance and infracommunity composition changed along host ontogeny. However, and beyond the effect of the host ontogeny,
analyses of the variance revealed that community descriptors of rockcod parasites at a given place vary as much between years as
between places at a similar time. These results reveal the need to use more rigorous sampling designs whenever parasites are going
to be used as biological tags of host populations. They also highlight the importance of using time and space replicated sampling
schemes.
Key words:
community variability,
marine fishes, Chile, parasite infracommunities, biological tags
