title: Helminth parasites of the tropical gar, Atractosteus tropicus Gill, from Tabasco, Mexico.
abstract: A total of 8 helminth species were recorded in an examination of 43 tropical gar, Atractosteus tropicus Gill, collected at the Pantanos de Centla Biosphere Reserve, Tabasco, Mexico. The parasite species included 1 adult trematode, 3 metacercariae, 1 cestode, 1 adult nematode, and 2 nematode larvae. Six of these 8 species were rare, with low prevalence (< 17%) and abundance (< 1.0 helminths per examined fish). The larvae of Contracaecum sp. were the most abundant in the sample, constituting 60% of the total helminths (64% prevalence, 3.8 +/- 5.2 abundance), followed by the cestode Proteocephalus singularis, constituting 18% of the worms (30.5% prevalence, 1.1 +/- 3.0 abundance). Species richness, individual parasite abundance, and diversity were low in the infracommunities. The recording of 3 specialist species in the tropical gar confirms that the helminth fauna of gar has an appreciable degree of specificity. This study indicates the importance of ecological determinants of richness in helminth communities of the tropical gar.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Apartado Postal 70-153, CP 04510, Mexico DF, Mexico. gsalgado@mail.ibiologia.unam.mx
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salgado-Maldonado
authors.forename: Frantisek
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moravec
authors.forename: Guillermina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cabañas-Carranza
authors.forename: Rogelio
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aguilar-Aguilar
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Nava
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Báez-Valé
authors.forename: Tomás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Scholz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D005399:Fishes; D006374:Helminthiasis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D006376:Helminths / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence