title: Coccidian infection may explain the differences in the life history of octopus host populations.
abstract: The prevalence of coccidian parasites in three Octopus tehuelchus populations from San Matías Gulf (Patagonia, Argentina) is compared. The prevalence was similar between sexes, but varied between seasons (being highest during cold months) and sites. Islote Lobos had the highest prevalence (42.7-100%) followed by San Antonio Bay (0-66%) and El Fuerte (0-24.5%). Octopuses under 27 mm of dorsal mantle length showed a low prevalence (less than 50%), which increased with size. We hypothesize that the high prevalence of parasites, which affect the three populations differentially, could account for the observed variability in life-span and growth, size-frequency distributions, reproduction and densities of O. tehuelchus populations.
authors.affiliation: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina; Instituto de Biología Marina y Pesquera Almirante Storni (IBMPAS)/Escuela Superior de Ciencias Marinas (ESCiMar), Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Güemes 1030 (R8520CXV), San Antonio Oeste, Argentina. Electronic address: lorestorero@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lorena P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Storero
authors.forename: Maite A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Narvarte
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D049831:Octopodiformes / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology; D059208:Parasite Load / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D012621:Seasons; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Host population; Octopus tehuelchus; Parasite effect; Patagonia