Communities of Helminth Parasites in Sciaenid Fish From the Alvarado Coast, Veracruz, Mexico, Southern Gulf of Mexico

A helminthological examination was performed on 114 specimens of sciaenids that were captured on the Alvarado coast, Veracruz, Mexico, between August 2004 and July 2006. Bairdiella chrysoura (n = 15); Cynoscion arenarius (n = 31); Menticirrhus americanus (n = 16); Menticirrhus littoralis (n = 33) and Umbrina coroides (n = 19). 26 parasites were identified at the species, 12 genus and 5 family levels, as follows: 21 digeneans (14 adults and 7 metacercariae), 9 monogeneans, 7 nematodes (4 adults and 3 larvae), 2 cestodes (larvae), and 4 acanthocephalans (adults). Digeneans and monogeneans were the most abundant. Helminths with the highest prevalence in all five communities were Pseudorhamnocercoides stichospinus and Tetraphyllidae. The species with highest mean intensity were Diplomonorchis leiostomi and Tetraphyllidae, and Hysterothylacium sp., were registered in the five communities. Significant correlations between the host total length and species richness, U. coroides (r = 0.54), and total length and abundance, M. americanus (r = 0.63), were found. The highest similarity was recorded among communities of M. americanus and M. littoralis. The infracommunities and component communities in species richness and diversity, in all cases, were within ranges observed in most marine fish helminth communities.