Dr. George-Nascimento-Failla, Mario

Two new digenean species are described from the intertidal blenny Scartichthys viridis (Valenciennes) (Blenniidae) collected off the coasts of Chile. The digenean Monorchimacradena viridis n. sp. (Lecithasteridae: Macradenininae) differs from the only known species described in the genus, M. acanthuri Nahhas and Cable 1964, in the presence of Drüsenmagen in the caeca, the location of the seminal vesicle between the testis and ovary (anterior to the testis in M. viridis n. sp.), and the pre-ovarian vitellarium. Megasolena littoralis n. sp. (Haploporidae), which is also reported from Scartichthys gigas (Steindachner), differs from the five valid species of Megasolena in that the post-caecal region (from the posterior edge of the caeca to the end of the body) is larger in M. viridis n. sp., meaning that the caeca are shortest in this species. Also, M. littoralis n. sp. is distinguished, from the other congeneric species, in a combination of characteristics, e.g., body length, suckers, pharynx, testes, hermaphroditic sac and sucker-length ratio. Sequences of ITS2 rDNA were generated for specimens of both species from various localities, indicating that it was invariant within the species. This study describes species of Monorchimacradena and Megasolena in Chilean waters, here reported for the first time off the Pacific Coast of South America.

It was assessed the parasitic relationship between by 2 morphospecies of microphallid metacercariae and their second intermediate host, the amphipod Apohyale hirtipalma with the body length and sex of the hosts, and the abundance of shore birds (definitive hosts). Amphipod mortality induced by the parasites was assessed through the relationship between the variance/mean parasite abundance ratio with host body length for each metacercariae morphospecies. Four sites at the Biobío Region (36°S), Chile, were selected because of contrasting abundance of potential definitive hosts (Aves: Laridae), from where 240 amphipods were collected from intertidal pools (60 in each sampling locality). Total prevalence was 57.5% and metacercariae found, belonged to 2 unidentified morphospecies of microphallid subfamilies (Microphallinae, 28.3% and Maritrematinae, 36.7%). The prevalence and abundance of metacercariae increased with the amphipod body, although their variations were associated to the abundance of shorebirds. The prevalence of Microphallinae did not have differences among sexes in their relationship with the host body length, while among Maritrematinae, male amphipods showed higher prevalence than females of similar body length. It was also determined that Maritrematinae would cause more mortality than Microphallinae. Local variations of the abundance of other hosts involved in the microphallid life cycles as well as of prevailing local environmental conditions and amphipod behavior may be keys for a better understanding of the abundance and prevalence variations of these parasites.

Notothen fishes (Nototheniidae) have been recorded on the coasts of South America, from 35°S to southern. Little is known about the biology of intertidal notothen fishes or their relationships with other species, including parasites. Here, we analyzed the parasitic fauna of a species of Notothenia collected from the rocky intertidal of Lebu, south-central Chile (36°S) and compared the parasite community of this host with other 9 fish species commonly found in rocky intertidal pools. Among the tested species, Notothenia sp. had the highest parasite richness (21 parasitic taxa vs. 1 to 9 parasitic taxa). The composition of parasite species was different among fishes, with similarity indices between 0 and 33%. The parasite composition of Notothenia sp. was most similar to Calliclinus geniguttatus (27%). The most abundant and prevalent parasites found in Notothenia sp. were the copepod Caligus cf. cheilodactyli, Tetraphyllidea larvae, anisakid nematodes, and several acanthocephalan species, which are typical of other fish from the subtidal and bento-demersal zones. Therefore, we conclude that the juveniles of Notothenia sp. were a few months old and had their parasites when reaching the intertidal zone, acquired some generalist parasites during their stay in this habitat, such as Holobomolochus chilensis and Lecithaster macrocotyle. Most notothen fishes are from Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic waters, therefore, it is possible that this fish came from another habitat but also from the austral region of South America. Notothenia sp. could not be specifically identified because of different results between morphological and genetic analyses.

Research using parasites infish population studies in the South Eastern Pacific (SEP) is summarized. There are 27 suchstudies (snapshots mainly) in single host species sampled at different geographic localities and at somewhat similar times.They have been devoted mainly to economically important species, though others on coastal and intertidalfish or on less- ornon-commercial species provide insights on scales of temporal and spatial variation of parasite infracommunities. Later, weassess whether the probability of harbouring parasites depends on the host species body size. Our results indicate that astronger tool forfish population studies may be developed under regular (long term) scrutiny of parasite communities,especially of smallfish host species, due to their larger variability in richness, abundance and total biomass, than in largefishspecies. Finally, it might also be necessary to consider the effects offishing on parasite communities as well as the naturaloscillations (coupled or not) of host and parasite populations.

The coasts of central Chile and central California are important points of comparison in the study of ecological convergence such as a host’s parasite load because of their similar environmental conditions and the shared presence of many families of different species. In this study, the diversity of parasites in fish species from both zones was analyzed and compared to establish if there are similarities between them. The presence of 6 taxonomic groups of parasites was determined using published literature and databases for each location. A presence-absence matrix was created for the fish species studied in Chile and California, and a similarity analysis was carried out to prove whether the parasite loads of both zones were similar. The parasite taxa most frequently found in fish in central California were Digenea and Nematoda, whereas in central Chile the common taxa were Digenea, Annelida, Copepoda, Acanthocephala, and Nematoda. The similarity analysis showed that the parasite composition was different between zones. Nevertheless, overlaps were obtained in the parasitic diversity grouping the host in 3 host groups, one of which consists of hosts from both zones. This difference can be explained by the low parasitic diversity in the assemble of rocky intertidal fishes in California, potentially due to the limited amount of existing studies on intertidal fish parasites in California, along with other possible factors not explored in the present study.

A pesar que la interacción entre parásitos y hospederos es constante, y obligatoria para los parásitos, las variaciones espaciales de estas relaciones son poco conocidas. En este estudio se cuantifica y compara las interacciones parásito-hospedero en peces de pozas intermareales de la zona centro (33°S) y centrosur (36°S) de Chile. Se recolectó un total de 2.081 peces desde 56 pozas intermareales. Se comparó la biomasa y abundancia de peces entre las pozas de las dos zonas: centro (ZC) y centro-sur (ZCS). Para el análisis de las comunidades de parásitos se consideraron especies de peces comunes entre la ZC y ZCS, y se comparó la prevalencia, abundancia, riqueza y diversidad de parásitos. Tanto la abundancia y biomasa de peces como los parámetros comunitarios de parásitos, fueron estandarizados al volumen de la poza (m3). Pese a que hubo diferencias, entre ambas zonas, en la abundancia y biomasa en algunas especies de peces y en al menos un parámetro comunitario de parásitos, esas diferencias desaparecieron luego de estandarizar los datos a m3. Se detectó una media-baja similitud de especies parásitas entre zonas de muestreo (<55%). Sin embargo, los parámetros de interacción parásito-hospedero (conectancia y densidad de vínculos) no fueron distintos. Esto se puede deber, en parte, a la similitud en la riqueza de especies de peces, independiente de la especie de parásito, que mantendría su “carga de especies parásitas”. Las comunidades de parásitos de peces se han determinado como insaturadas, lo que significa que no tienen todas las especies posibles que pueden albergar, por lo que quedarían microhábitats disponibles en los hospederos para ser ocupados por especies parásitas propias de un lugar.

Biological interactions and environmental constraints alter life-history traits, modifying organismal performances. Trematode parasites often impact their hosts by inducing parasitic castration, frequently correlated with increased body size in the host (i.e., gigantism hypothesis), which is postulated to reflect the re-allocation of energy released by the reduction in the reproductive process. In this study, we compared the effect of a trematode species on shell size and morphology in adult individuals of the intertidal mussels Perumytilus purpuratus (>20 mm) collected from two local populations of contrasting environmental regimes experienced in central-southern Chile. Our field data indicates that in both study locations, parasitized mussels evidenced higher body sizes (shell length, total weight and volume) as compared with non-parasitized. In addition, parasitized mussels from the southern location evidenced thinner shells than non-parasitized ones and those collected from central Chile, suggesting geographical variation in shell carbonate precipitation across intertidal habitats of the Chilean coast. In laboratory conditions, mussels collected from a local population in central Chile were exposed to two temperature treatments (12 and 18 °C). Parasitized mussels showed higher growth rates than non-parasitized, regardless of the seawater temperature treatments. However, the metabolic rate was not influenced by the parasite condition or the temperature treatments. Our field and laboratory results support the parasite-induced gigantism hypothesis, and suggest that both the thermal environment and geographic location explain only a portion of the increased body size, while the parasitic condition is the most plausible factor modulating the outcome of this host-parasite interaction.

Los Digenea son platelmintos parásitos comunes en organismos intermareales, y en sus etapas de vida libre (miracidio y cercaria) están expuestos a distintas condiciones ambientales, al igual que sus hospedadores. Por otro lado, éstos últimos pueden presentar un comportamiento fisiológico diferente si están o no parasitados. En este estudio se evaluó el efecto de la parasitosis por un digeneo, aún no identificado, sobre el consumo de oxígeno del chorito Perumytilus purpuratus, y se analizó la influencia de la temperatura del agua y los ciclos de emersión-inmersión sobre la liberación de las cercarias de estos parásitos. Ejemplares de P. purpuratus fueron recolectaron manualmente desde el roquerío intermareal de la desembocadura del río Biobío, Chile. En el laboratorio se comparó, en experimentos con distintos ejemplares, el consumo de oxígeno de individuos con y sin parásitos, y se midió la liberación de cercarias a 9, 17 y 22°C de temperatura del agua, y según ciclos opuestos de inmersión-emersión de duración variable. El consumo de oxígeno no mostró diferencias significativas entre choritos parasitados y no parasitados. Sin embargo, los ejemplares parasitados mostraron escaso desarrollo gonadal, lo que sugiere una reasignación de los productos metabólicos de los choritos hacia el parásito. La liberación de cercarias aumentó con la temperatura del agua y decreció exponencialmente con la duración de la inmersión-emersión, alcanzando valores máximos en las primeras 2 h de ocurrida la inmersión. Las secuencias opuestas de los ciclos de inmersión-emersión empleadas en los experimentos no influyeron significativamente en el número final de cercarias liberadas. Estos resultados sugieren que el metabolismo del hospedador aumenta con la temperatura, y que la inmersión y la temperatura del agua inducen la liberación de las cercarias.

Studies on helminth communities associated with didelphids are scarce; the majority of works have focused at taxonomic level. To increase the ecological knowledge of these host–parasite associations, during March (dry season) of 3 consecutive years (2013–2015) a total of 49 adults of the gray four-eyed opossum (Philander opossum) was collected in the Neotropical portion of Mexico (Agua Fría, Chiapas State) and examined for helminths. The main objectives of this study were to describe the infra- and component communities of helminths associated with P. opossum and to compare the helminth fauna of the Mexican population of this host species with those studied in French Guiana and in other Mexican terrestrial didelphids. The helminthological record of this host consisted of 12 species: 7 taxa of Nematoda, 3 of Trematoda, 1 Cestoda, and 1 Acanthocephala. Eight of the 12 taxa have been previously recorded in Didelphidae and 4 represent accidental infections (Glossocercus sp., Stomylotrema vicarium, Spirura mexicana and Acanthocephala gen. sp.). Diet of hosts is the main structuring factor of the communities (92% of the helminth species were recruited through ingestion). Forty-eight hosts were parasitized by at least 1 helminth species; Rhopalias coronatus was the most prevalent and abundant species in the hosts sampled. No significant differences were found in global prevalence among the helminth species present in all samplings, considering host sex and year. The dominance exerted by R. coronatus led to low values of evenness and diversity at both community levels. No significant differences were observed in composition of helminth species among the 3 sampling years regarding sex. The results of our study showed changes in helminth abundance at infracommunity level; during the first sampling these changes are explained by species with direct life cycle (Viannaia sp. and Cruzia tentaculata), whereas in last 2 surveys the explanation can be attributed to species with heteroxenous life cycles (particularly R. coronatus, Duboisiella proloba, and Turgida turgida). Thirty-three percent of the helminth species recorded in P. opossum in Agua Fría is shared with the other 2 terrestrial species of didelphids sampled in different sites of Mexico: Didelphis marsupialis and Didelphis virginiana. In contrast, samples from French Guiana and Agua Fría, differ in terms of helminth fauna, confirming that the helminth communities of opossum species inhabiting the same locality show higher levels of taxonomic similarity than communities of conspecific marsupials allopatrically distributed.

The most studied digenean of marine organisms in Chile is by far Proctoeces humboldti, a parasite of the intestine of the clingfish Sicyases sanguineus and gonad of the keyhole limpet Fissurella spp. (progenetic metacercariae). The mussel Perumytilus purpuratus has been suggested as the first intermediate host for this digenean. In a study examining the parasites of S. sanguineus from central Chile, we found specimens of Proctoeces showing significant morphological differences with P. humboldti. To assist in the resolution of the taxonomic identification of these specimens, as well sporocysts obtained from the mussel P. purpuratus from central and northern Chile, phylogenetic studies using DNA sequences from the SSU rRNA, as well the LSU rRNA and Cox 1 gene were performed. Results showed that the clingfish S. sanguineus is a host for two species of Proctoeces (P. humboldti and P. syciases n. sp.) along the northern and central Chilean coast, without geographic separation; the mussel P. purpuratus is the first intermediate host for P. syciases n. sp. but not for P. humboldti in central and northern Chile. Fissurellids (Archaeogastropoda) along the Chilean coast harbor only progenetic stages of P. humboldti, but there is no evidence of progenesis for P. syciases. The reinstatement of Proctoeces humboldti is strongly suggested.