title: Distribution pattern of crustacean ectoparasites of freshwater fish from Brazil.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to use the informations relating to parasite crustaceans species that was published over the course of one century (1913 to 2013), in order to search for infestation and distribution patterns among these ectoparasites in Brazilian freshwater fish species. This search was carried out on 445 samples of 119 host fish of 27 families within the orders Characiformes, Perciformes, Clupeiformes, Mugiliformes, Osteoglossiformes, Symbranchiformes, Tetraodontiformes and Siluriformes from various regions of Brazil. We organized different host-parasite systems into matrices grouping species at different taxonomic and infestation levels and according to host parameters. Five families of parasites (Ergasilidae, Argulidae, Lernaeidae, Lernaeopodidae and Cymothoidae) distributed into 76 species of 27 genera were analyzed in the host samples, which presented dominance of Ergasilidae species, mainly from the genus Ergasilus. Some crustaceans are host and site-specific, especially in relation to fish in particular habitats and lifestyles (e.g. Perulernaea gamitanae, Anphira branchialis and Riggia paranensis), while other parasites frequently have no preference (e.g. Lernaea cyprinacea and Braga patagonica). We found broadly similar distribution patterns for some crustacean species among the different localities, whereas other species showed well-defined geographical patterns, and these findings were discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Sanidade de Organismos Aquáticos, Embrapa Amapá, Macapá, AP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tavares-Dias
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Sanidade de Organismos Aquáticos, Embrapa Amapá, Macapá, AP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Miguel Benedito Ferreira
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Dias-Júnior
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Amapá, Macapá, AP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Alexandro Cezar
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Florentino
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnológicas do Estado do Amapá, Macapá, AP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luís Mauricio Abdon
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Química, Saneamento e Modelagem de Sistemas Ambientais, Universidade Federal do Amapá, Macapá, AP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Alan Cavalcanti
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: da Cunha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D003445:Crustacea; D003710:Demography; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000662:veterinary; D005399:Fishes / Q000469:parasitology*; D005618:Fresh Water