ISSN Versión impresa 2218-6425 ISSN Versión Electrónica 1995-1043

ORIGINAL ARTICLE / ARTÍCULO ORIGINAL

PARASITE COMMUNITY OF THE TADPOLE CODLING SALILOTA AUSTRALIS (GÜNTHER, 1878)

(GADIFORMES: MORIDAE) FROM THE SOUTHERN CHILE AND ITS COMPARISON WITH ITS

CLOSEST RELATIVES

COMUNIDAD DE PARÁSITOS DE LA BRÓTULA SALILOTA AUSTRALIS (GÜNTHER, 1878)

(GADIFORMES: MORIDAE) DEL SUR DE CHILE COMPARADA CON LAS ESPECIES

EMPARENTADAS MÁS CERCANAS

1Centro Costa-R, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso. Avenida

Borgoño 16344, Viña del Mar, Chile.

Corresponding author: gabriela.munoz@cienciasdelmar.cl / gabriela.munoz@uv.cl

Gabriela Muñoz

ABSTRACT

Keywords: parasite composition – parasite infracommunities – Gadiformes – tadpole codling – Southern Chile

Tadpole codling, Salilota australis (Günther, 1887), is a gadiform fish inhabiting the south of the South

American coast. This fish has been overexploited in the past. However, nowadays, it has little economic

importance. The biology of the tadpole codling is little known, and there are few records of parasite

species in this fish. Thus, the aim of the present study is to analyze the parasite community of the tadpole

codling and compare the same with the parasite communities of other gadiform fish. For the study, 23

specimens of tadpole codling were collected from the Strait of Magellan, Southern Chile, in summer

between 2017–2019. The entire sample was parasitized, and 19 parasite taxa were recorded—two

ectoparasites and 17 endoparasites. The most prevalent parasites were anisakid nematodes,

Contracaecum sp., and Pseudoterranova sp., while the digenean Pseudopecoeloides sp. was the most

abundant. The abundance and richness of parasite infracommunities decreased with the host body length.

Several parasites of the tadpole codling have already been found in other gadiform fish. However, the

maximum similitude, based on the presence–absence of parasites, was found to be 29% with Merluccius

australis (Hutton, 1872). When using the average abundance of parasites, there was 51% similarity

between the tadpole codling and Micromesistius australis Norman, 1937. The differences between the

parasite communities among the fish analyzed can be attributed to the phylogenetic distances and the

abundances of the tadpole codling and the other gadiform fish. In conclusion, the tadpole codling has a

rich parasite community, considering that a small sample size was analyzed. Most of the parasite taxa were

generalists, and two parasite species were specific to the tadpole codling.

Neotropical Helminthology

181

Neotropical Helminthology, 2019, 13(2), jul-dic:181-191.

ÓrganooficialdelaAsociaciónPeruanadeHelmintologíaeInvertebradosAfines(APHIA)

Lima-Perú

VersiónImpresa:ISSN2218-6425VersiónElectrónica:ISSN1995-1043

Volume13,Number2(jul-dec2019)

182

RESUMEN

Palabras clave: composición parasitaria – infracomunidad de parásitos – Gadiformes – brótula – sur de Chile

La brótula o bacalao austral, Salilota australis (Günther, 1887), es un pez gadiforme que vive al sur de las

costas sudamericanas. En décadas pasadas, esta especie de pez fue sobreexplotada, sin embargo, en la

actualidad tiene escasa importancia económica. La biología de la brótula es poco conocida, y existen

pocos registros de parásitos, es así que el objetivo de este estudio es contribuir al conocimiento

parasitológico de este pez mediante el análisis de su comunidad de parásitos, comparada con las de otros

peces gadiformes de la zona sur de américa. Durante el verano 2017-2019, se recolectaron 23 especímenes

desde el Estrecho de Magallanes, sur de Chile. Todos los especímenes de brótula estaban parasitados,

registrándose 19 taxa parasitarios; dos ectoparásitos y 17 endoparásitos. Los parásitos más prevalentes

fueron nematodos anisákidos, Contracaecum sp. y Pseudoterranova sp., y la más abundante fue el

digeneo Pseudopecoeloides sp. La abundancia y riqueza de las infracomunidades parasitarias disminuyó

con la longitud total del pez. Varios de los parásitos de la brótula habían sido registrados en otros peces. Sin

embargo, la similitud máxima, basado en la presencia- ausencia de parásitos, fue de 29% con Merluccius

australis (Hutton, 1872), mientras que al considerar la abundancia promedio de parásitos, hubo un 51% de

similitud entre la brótula y Micromesistius australis Norman, 1937. Las diferencias de las comunidades de

parásitos entre los peces gadiformes considerados se debería a las distancias filogenéticas y abundancias

entre la brótula y las otras especies. En conclusión, pese a la pequeña muestra de brótulas analizadas, se

encontró una rica comunidad de parásitos. La mayoría de los taxa parasitarios eran generalistas, y solo dos

serían específicos a la brótula.

INTRODUCTION commercial interest at present, and it is no longer a

target species for the industry, which shows low

fishing (~1 to 3 tons) in the last decade for by-catch

only (SERNAPESCA, 2017).

Some biological aspects of the tadpole codling has

been studied, such as its reproduction (Chong-

Follert et al., 2017), and population structure

(Wöhler et al., 2001; Cassia & Hanssen, 2005). The

biology of the tadpole codling is distinct from that

of its closest relatives (Gadiformes such as austral

hake, fish hoki, and southern blue whiting), which

have been target species for fishing and have

endured overexploitation for decades. Because

gadiforms are important commercial resources,

they are now protected by regulation fishing

policies of Chile.

Parasitological studies on the tadpole codling have

been conducted for Argentinian coasts and for

some specific parasitic species only, such as

taxonomic descriptions of a monogenean,

Tribuliphorus salilotae (Mamaev & Paruchin,

1977; Suriano & Martorelli, 1984), a digenean

Ellytrophalloides oatesi (Suriano & Sutton, 1981;

Guagliardo et al., 2010), and the larval cestode

Grillotia patagonica (Meronet & Ivanov, 2012).

Only one record exists in Chile (Wilson, 1917), that

Salilota australis (Günther, 1878), commonly

known as tadpole codling in English and “brótula”

or “bacalao austral” in Spanish, is a gadiform

species from the family Moridae. It inhabits

Patagonia, the Southern American cone, and is

distributed at the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of

America and Falkland Islands (earlier known as

Malvinas Islands). It typically lives in 30–900 m

depth, and it is frequently caught by bottom trawl

nets (Reyes & Hüne, 2012).

Tadpole codlings had commercial significance in

the past. Large catches were obtained during the

80s and 90s, with a fishing peak of ~8 tons for Chile

in 1988 and ~16 tons for Argentina in 1996 (Cassia

& Hanssen, 2005; Chong-Follert et al., 2017).

However, a dramatic decrease in catches was

observed in both countries, likely due to the

biological characteristics of the tadpole codlings,

such as medium longevity, early sexual maturity,

and possible low growth, which make it a

vulnerable species for industrial fishing (Chong-

Follert et al., 2017). However, this species is not

considered as a threatened one (IUCN, 2019).

Particularly in Chile, tadpole codlings have no

Neotropical Helminthology, 2019, 13(2), jul-dic Muñoz

183

of the parasitic copepod Trifur tortuosus. No study

related to parasite communities in the tadpole

codling has been conducted and, once again, this

distinguished the species from its relatives that

have been studied on the parasite community that

are mostly focused on determining the stock

populations of commercial gadiform fish (George-

Nascimento & Arancibia, 1994; Oliva, 2001;

M a c K e n z i e & L o n g s h a w , 1 9 9 5 ;

George–Nascimento et al., 2011; MacKenzie et al.,

2013). Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze

the parasite community of the tadpole codling.

Considering the lack of parasitological

understanding of this fish, it would be useful for

future studies to know how different parasite

communities of the tadpole codling are with

relative fish. Therefore, comparisons of the

parasite communities of the tadpole codling with

other gadiform fish species (Merluccius australis

(Hutton, 1872), M. hubbsi Marini, 1933,

Macruronus magellanicus Lönnberg, 1907, and

Micromesistius australis Norman, 1937) are also

performed, using parasitological literature from

the southern zone of South America at Pacific and

Atlantic waters.

A total of 23 specimens of S. australis were

collected from the Strait of Magellan (53° 19'

44.0832'' S70° 45' 30.6576'' W) at Punta Arenas,

Southern Chile, at a depth of 10-30 m. The spinel

method was used onboard the artisanal boat during

summers of 2017–2019. The tadpole codling

specimens were the by-catch of austral hake

fishing. The small size of the sample collected may

be attributed to the fact that the tadpole codling

inhabits deeper waters. Moreover, there is few

fishermen in the zone, and there is no commercial

interest in the tadpole codling, so that its discharge

is legally authorized (SUBPESCA, 2017). The

number of fish and the method of fishing were in

accordance with the institutional guidelines for use

of animals with scientific purposes, as stated in the

Bioethics certificate # 058/2016 given by

Universidad de Valparaiso (Chile).

All the fish specimens were frozen at -20° C and

dissected posteriorly. The body length was

recorded for each specimen. The metazoan

parasites from each fish were collected and then

fixed in either 10% formalin or 70% ethanol,

according to the processes applied for

identification. The parasites were identified and

counted posteriorly. The parasites were then

identified using taxonomic keys for parasite

identification and descriptions of species (Suriano

& Martorelli, 1984; Suiano & Sutton, 1981; Rocka,

2004; Guagliardo et al., 2010; Etchegoin et al.,

2009; Meronet & Ivanov, 2012; Laskowski &

Zdzitowiecki, 2017). Voucher specimens of each

parasite species collected in his study were

deposited in the Museo de Historia Natural de

Chile (HNHNCL).

The abundance and prevalence of each parasite

species were recorded and averaged for the entire

fish sample, and the abundance and the species

richness was calculated for each parasite

infracommunity (Bush et al., 1997). Due to the

small sample size (12 specimens in 2017, 8 in 2018,

and 4 in 2019), it was not possible to consider the

year sampling as a factor. Therefore, only

suggestions were made about results and the

potential influences of year sampling.

The parasite community of the tadpole codling was

compared with the published literature on the

parasites of the other four gadiform fish species

from the southernmost zones of South America

(51°S–56°S), specifically from Punta Arenas and

Navarino Island (Pacific coast), and Falkland

islands (Atlantic coasts). We referred to Oliva

(2001) and Mackenzie et al. (2013) for

Macruronus magellanicus (Macrouridae),

George–Nascimento & Arancibia (1994) and

Mackenzie & Longshaw (1995) for Merluccius

australis and M. hubbsi (Merlucciidae), and

George–Nascimento et a l. (2011) for

Micromesistius australis (Gadidae). The

presence–absence and average abundances of the

parasite species of each fish species were used for

the comparisons.

Most data used in this study did not fit the normal

distributions or display homoscedasticity of

variances; therefore, several non-parametric

analyses were applied in order to obtain reliable

statistical results (Zar, 1996). The significance

level was P < 0.05 for all the analyses applied,

performed with the software PAST 3.13

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Neotropical Helminthology, 2019, 13(2), jul-dic Parasite community of Salilota australis

184

(https://folk.uio.no/ohammer/past/index.html)

(Hammer et al. 2001).

The abundance and species richness of parasite

taxa were correlated with the host body length

using the Spearman correlation analysis (Zar,

1996) in order to find out the importance of fish

body length for parasite communities. Then, the

parasite composition of the five fish species was

represented through a cluster analysis using the

Jaccard similarity coefficient, which ranges from 0

(no similarity) to 1 (complete similarity). This

index was based on the presence–absence of

parasite taxa in the five fish and then clustered

through the single link method (Chao et al., 2006).

Another similarity index with was calculated

though the Bray–Curtis index, which ranges from 0

(no similarity) to 1 (complete similarity), and based

on the average abundance of each parasite taxon.

Then, a cluster analysis was performed with the

Bray–Curtis similarity index, which parasite

abundances were transformed to log (x+1). For

this analysis, only the parasite species common in

at least two host species were considered. The

clustering analysis was applied using the single-

link method (Clarke & Warwick, 1994).

Bootstrapping, with 1000 resamplings, was

applied in each cluster to find out the consistency of

the groups that were similar to one another.

The body length of the tadpole codling differed

over the sampling years (H = 14.29; P< 0.001).

2, 23

The specimens collected in 2018 had the smallest

body length (Table 1), and this was associated with

the depth of the sampling, because the specimens

were collected in shallow waters in this year (Table

1).

In the entire tadpole codling sample, 19 parasite

taxa were recorded—two ectoparasites and 17

endoparasites (Table 1). All the specimens were

parasitized with at least one parasite taxa. The 2018

sample included six parasite taxa that were not

recorded in the other years, but all of them showed

low parasite abundance and prevalence. However,

the most common parasites (most abundant and

prevalent) were present in the three-year sample.

Acanthocephalans and nematodes had more

species than the other parasitic groups (Table 1).

The most prevalent parasites were anisakid

n e m a t o d e s , C o n t r a c a e c u m s p . , a n d

Pseudoterranova sp., while the digenean

Pseudopecoeloides sp. were the most abundant

(Table 1).

It was found that the abundance (n= 23, r = -0.503,

P= 0.014) and richness (n= 23, r = -0.514, P=

0.011) of parasite infracommunities decreased

with the tadpole codling body length. While the

fish body length differed between the sampling

years, the distribution of the infracommunity data

(for abundance and richness) was in the same

tendency (Fig. 1).

Several parasites of the tadpole codling have been

found in other gadiform fish already. However, the

maximum similitude index, based on the

presence–absence of parasites, found with

Merluccius australis, was 0.29 (29%) (Table 2).

Considering the parasite abundance, the maximum

similitude was 0.51 (51%) between the tadpole

codling and Micromesistius australis (Table 2).

Congruently, in the cluster diagram, the tadpole

codling is positioned in a different branch than

other gadiform fish, considering the

presence–absence of parasite taxa and the average

abundance of parasites (Fig. 2). However, the

similarity between the pair of hosts was greater for

the presence–absence of parasites than for the

abundance of parasites shared among the fish

species (Fig. 2). Although, the major similarity was

between the same fish species from different

sampling zones. In both cluster analyses, S.

australis was less similar respect to the other four

gadiform fish.

RESULTS

Table 1. Sampling size and body length of the tadpole codling, Salilota australis, per year.

Year n

Range of LT

Mean ± SD Depth of sampling

2017 12

42-63

46.2 ± 6.5 20-30 m

2018

32-46

35.1 ± 3.6 10-15 m

2019 3 43-45 43.5 ± 0.9 20-25 m

Neotropical Helminthology, 2019, 13(2), jul-dic Muñoz

185

Neotropical Helminthology, 2019, 13(2), jul-dic Parasite community of Salilota australis

Table 2. Parasite taxa found specimens of the tadpole codling Salilota australis from Southern Chile collected from

different site of infection (G: gills, BS: body surface, BC: body cavity, I: intestine, S: stomach). Presence of parasites

per year samplings, and numerical descriptors for each parasite taxa in the whole sample; Prevalence (P, %), average

abundance (X ABU) and its standard deviation (SD). Collection numbers of parasite specimens deposited in the

MNHNCL are also shown.

Presence of parasites

Whole sample (n=23)

Parasite taxa

Site

# MNHNCL

2017

2018

2019

(%)

X ABU ±SD

MONOGENEA

Tribuliphorus salilotae Mamaev &

Parukhin, 1977

PLAT-15009

56.5

4.87 ± 7.99

COPEPODA

Trifur tortuosus Wilson, 1917

COP-15128

4.3

0.04 ± 0.21

DIGENEA

Azygiidae gen. sp.

PLAT-15011

8.7

0.09 ± 0.29

Elytrophalloides oatesi (Leiper &

Atkinson, 1914)

PLAT-

15012

4.3

0.04 ± 0.21

Pseudopecoeloides

sp.

PLAT-

15013

39.1

10.61 ± 19.95

CESTODA

Grillotia

sp.

PLAT-

15010

13.0

0.17 ± 0.49

ACANTHOCEPHALA

Aspersentis johni

(Baylis, 1929)

ACAN-15000

17.4

2.17 ± 5.40

Corynosoma arctocephali

Zdzitowiecki, 1984

ACAN-15001

39.1

0.70 ± 1.11

Echinorhynchus petrotschenkoi

Rodjuk, 1984

ACAN-15002

43.5

1.30 ± 2.12

Hypoechinorhynchus magellanicus

Szidat, 1950

ACAN-15003

21.7

0.96 ± 3.15

Metacanthocephalus sp.

ACAN-15004

17.4

1.91 ± 6.88

Rhadynorhynchidae gen. sp.

---

4.3

0.04 ± 0.21

NEMATODA

Anisakis

sp.

NEM-15016

21.7

1.30 ± 3.27

Ascarophis

sp.

NEM-15019

17.4

2.00 ± 6.26

Contracaecum

sp.

S, I

NEM-15017

65.2

2.13 ± 2.60

Hysterothylacium sp. I, BC NEM-15020 x x x 30.4 0.52 ± 0.99

Pseudodelphis sp. I NEM-15021 x 13.0 0.26 ± 0.75

Pseudoterranova sp. BC NEM-15018 x x x 73.9 3.91 ± 5.21

186

Table 3. The similarity between the parasite communities of five gadiform fish species based on Jaccard index for presence–absence of parasites (over the grey

line) and the Bray–Curtis index for parasite abundance (under the grey line). Also, the sampling zone fishing has been indicated (PA: Punta Arenas, NI, Navarino

Island; FI: Falkland Islands) along with the bibliographic references.

Fish

Zone

Reference

S.aust

M.mage

(1)

M.mage

(2 )

M.mage

(3 )

M.hubb

M.aust

(1)

M.aust

(2)

Mi.aust

(1)

Mi.aust

(2)

S.aust

This study

0.115

0.174

0.182

0.120

0.292

0.250

0.280

0.208

M.mage (1)

Oliva (2001)

0.016

0.250

0.357

0.235

0.263

0.278

0.250

0.222

M.mage (2 )

Mackenzie et al.

(2013)

0.180

0.370

0.700

0.357

0.222

0.400

0.211

0.250

M.mage

(3 )

Mackenzie et al.

(2013)

0.171

0.801

0.389

0.286

0.235

0.333

0.222

0.267

M.hubb

Mackenzie & Longshaw (1995)

0.142

0.556

0.639

0.344

0.353

0.375

0.263

0.313

M.aust (1)

George-Nascimento & Arancibia (1994)

0.374

0.413

0.445

0.124

0.407

0.667

0.500

0.412

M.aust (2)

George-Nascimento & Arancibia (1994)

0.265

0.671

0.592

0.206

0.540

0.541

0.368

0.438

Mi.aust (1)

George-Nascimento et al.

(2011)

0.510

0.441

0.486

0.063

0.363

0.592

0.505

0.786

Mi.aust (2) FI George-Nascimento et al. (2011) 0.271 0.507 0.540 0.086 0.467 0.572 0.588 0.602

Neotropical Helminthology, 2019, 13(2), jul-dic Muñoz

187

100

120

20 30 40 50 60 70

2017

2018

2019

20 30 40 50 60 70

Host body length (cm)

2017

2018

2019

Abundance

Taxa richness

Figure 1. Correlation of the abundance and taxa richness of parasite infracommunities with the body length of tadpole codling

Salilota australis.

DISCUSSION Therefore, Pseudopecoeloides sp. can be

considered specific to this fish.

The negative correlation between the abundance

and richness of parasites and the host body length is

unusual. Poulin (1999) found a negative

correlation between the intensity of helminths and

fish body mass. He argued that when the resources

needed by the parasites are not related to the host

body size, the positive correlation patterns between

these variables breaks down. In addition, all

animals, including fish, display physiological

changes with age. For instance, the hormonal

responses to stress change with the age of fish

rather than their body size (Barcellos et al., 2012),

Most of the parasites found in tadpole codling have

been recorded previously, not only in other fish

gadiform but also in other fish groups, such as

Ophidiiformes and in several fish of Perciformes

(Muñoz & Olmos, 2007, 2008). Only the

monogenean Tribuliphorus salilotae was specific

to tadpole codling. The Pseudopecoeloides sp. has

neither been recorded in the other gadiform fish

(Chávez et al., 2012) nor in Chile (Muñoz &

Olmos, 2008), indicating that this parasite is not

common in fish along the Chilean coast. However,

it was highly abundant in the tadpole codling.

Neotropical Helminthology, 2019, 13(2), jul-dic Parasite community of Salilota australis

188

Figure 2. Cluster analyses for the parasite communities of Salilota australis (S.aust) with other four gadiform fish species based

on the following: A) the presence–absence of all parasitic taxa present in the fish species and B) the average abundance of parasite

taxa, considering only those species share in at least two fish species. Abbreviations of fish species and reference were: data of M.

magellanicus are referred as M.mage (1) [Oliva (2001)], M.mage (2) and M.mage (3) [Mackenzie et al. (2013)]; data of M. hubbsi

as M.hubb [Mackenzie & Longshaw (1995)]; data of M. australis as M.aust (1) and M.aust (2) [George-Nascimento & Arancibia

(1994)]; Micromesistius australis as Mi.aust (1) and Mi.aust (2) [ George-Nascimento et al. (2011)]. Sampling locality as: PA:

Punta Arenas (Southern Pacific), FI: Folkland Island (Off Souther Atlantic), and NI, Navarino Island (Cabo de Hornos).

and this is applicable to many other

physiochemical changes in the host body.

Considering that parasites establish an intimate

link with their hosts, it is highly possible that some

parasites are lost when the host body undergoes

change.

The cluster analyses and similarity indices

demonstrated that fish species from different

sampling zones had similar parasite species

composition. Of the results obtained in this study,

one exception was for M. magellanicus,

specifically the sample called M.mage(1) (Fig. 2),

which differed in parasites from the other

conspecific samples. This result was due to two

parasite taxa, Cucullanus sp. and Anisakidae gen.

sp., both of which are found in high abundance in

the sample (Oliva, 2001) but not in the other, i.e.,

Neotropical Helminthology, 2019, 13(2), jul-dic Muñoz

189

M.mage(2) and M.mage(3) (Table 3, Fig. 2).

Unfortunately, while anisakid species are common

in coastal fish, few options can be applied to use

this specific datum since the nematode genus was

not specified. It might be considered as a different

taxon (which would be wrong, since several

anisakid species were present in the other samples)

or deleted from the analysis. Regardless of the

option chosen, the specific sample of M.mage(1)

differed from the other primarily due to the level

identification of the parasite. Therefore, for this

kind of analysis, the identification of parasites

should be at genus level at the very least.

In some studies, the host phylogeny has not been

clearly associated to parasite composition, because

the ecological aspects of the hosts, as well as the

changes in the environment, affect each parasite

species in different ways (Muñoz & Cribb, 2007;

Chávez et al., 2012). However, the results of the

present study are in accordance with phylogenetic

groups of fish. As a result, the parasite community

of the tadpole codling differs from the other

gadiform fish, possibly due to the phylogenetic

distances between the tadpole codling and the other

fish. The tadpole codling is the only species of

Moridae that lives on South American coasts.

According to a morphological study on

G a d i for m e s , t h e t adp o l e c odl i n g i s

phylogenetically distant from macrourids and

merluccids (Hiromitsu, 2002). Moreover,

ecological aspects also indicate important

differences among gadiform fish; for instance, the

amount of fishing has been historically lower in

tadpole codling than other gadiform (492 tons of

the tadpole codling were collected in 2016, which

was 7–26 times less than the collection of other

gadiform fish in the southern zone of Chile)

(SERNAPESCA, 2017; SUBPESCA, 2017). Host

abundance is one of the demographic parameters

that directly relate to parasite infections and the

sources of variability of parasite communities

(Arneberg et al., 1998; Morand et al., 2000).

One of the limitations of this study is that the

sampling years were not deeply analyzed in this

study due to the small sample size of the tadpole

codling. Moreover, the 2018 sample was collected

in shallower waters as compared to the sampling of

the other years. The tadpole codling typically lives

in deep waters; however, there are some reports

indicating that they can live at a depth of 8 m and

that juveniles inhabit the fjords and channels in the

south of Chile (Reyes & Hüne, 2012). The 2018

sampling was distinct, because the tadpole codling

had several parasites (6 species) that were not

present in the samples collected in the other years.

Four of these parasites—Hypoechynorhynchus

magellanicus Szidat, 1950, Aspersentis johni

(Baylis, 1929), Dichelyne (Cucullanellus) sp., and

Pseudodelphis sp.—are common in fish from

littoral, including the intertidal zone (Laskowski &

Zdzitowiecki, 2004; Muñoz & Olmos, 2008, other

personal data). It is possible that the tadpole

codling share habitat and food items with littoral

fish, thereby, acquiring other parasites (Reyes &

Hüne, 2012). It is also known that the ecological

behavior of the hosts has a strong impact on the

similitude of the parasite communities, as

demonstrated in other studies (Muñoz & Cribb,

2007; Chávez et al., 2012). It is important to note

that in the cluster analysis based of abundance,

those parasites that were not shared with other fish

were not included. Thus the differences of the

parasites tadpole codling with other fish were

consistent, besides the differences in the sample

size between years, and the particular composition

of parasites found in the sample 2018.

The small sample size of the fish analysed in this

study limited any further comparison related to

habitat use, distribution or seasonal variation of

fish and their parasites. Nevertheless, the present

study has greatly contributed to find out the

parasite composition of tadpole codling and

understand the difference between this and other

related species, which were unknown up to now.

Most of the parasites present in this fish species are

generalist, which are also present in several other

fish. However, the composition of parasites and

their abundance were distinguishable from other

fish. There is still work to do on this species,

specially on the variation of parasites, and other

biological aspects, over time, due to the population

changes that the tadpole codling have passed

through.

This study was supported by a grant from Instituto

Antártico Chileno (INACH) for a research project

RT 32–16 granted to GM.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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Received July 10, 2019.

Accepted August 19, 2019.

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