Nuevo registro de Lagodon rhomboides (Pisciformes: Sparidae) como hospedero de Cymothoa excisa (Isopoda: Cymothoidae) en la costa noroeste de la península de Yucatán

Abstract

This study reports for the first time the pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides, as a host of the isopod Cymothoa excisa, and shows the influence of parasitism in the morphometric growth of the pinfish obtained from La Carbonera, a tropical coastal lagoon on the northwestern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. A total of 448 pinfish were collected between April 2009 and March 2010. Twenty-eight individuals were found to host the parasite, with a prevalence of 6.2%. Additionally, we obtained the length-weight relationships (W= a Ltb) between individuals with parasites (a= 0.0005; b= 2.31) and those without (a= 0.00003; b= 2.91). Parameters a and b differed between groups (p<0.05). The population of L. rhomboides is affected by the presence of the isopod parasite, C. excisa; differences in the length-weight relationship indicates that C. excisa is a risk factor for this and other fish species in the study area.