DIVERSITY OF PARASITIC NEMATODES OF FISHES FROM THE BERMEJO AND JURAMENTO BASINS, SALTA, ARGENTINA

LORENA AILAN CHOKE; GERALDINE RAMALLO; DORA DAVIES

Tafi del Valle, Tucumán

Jornada; XXXIII Jornadas Científicas -Asociación de Biología de Tucumán; 2016

Asociación de Biología de Tucumán

Knowledge about freshwater parasitic nematodes in Salta province is limited. Thus, an analysis of nematodes assemblage composition in a section of the basins of rivers Bermejo and Juramento was carried out and parasitic infection indicators were calculated. From June 2014 to March 2016 Siluriformes, Characiformes and Cyprinodontiformes fishes were captured. Nematodes were fixed in 10% formalin, cleared in lactophenol and identified. Richness (S), abundance (N); similarity of Bray-Curtis, equitability (J) and diversity (H) indices; prevalence (P) and mean intensity (IM) were calculated. The followingwere obtained: 100 Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) hilarii in Astyanax spp. (P=13.9%; IM=1.7) and 1 in Characidium fasciatum (P=7.7%; IM=1); 41 Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) pintoi (P=46.9%; IM=1.8) in Corydoras paleatus; 18 Rhabdochona (Rhabdochona) acuminata (P=8.8%; IM=2.6) and 3 Cucullanus (Cucullanus) pinnai pinnai (P=1.3%; IM=3) in Trichomycterus spegazzini; 2 Contracaecum sp. (P=1.4%; IM=2) in Jenynsia alternimaculata and 2 in Astyanax spp. (P=0.5%; IM=1) and 21 Raphidascaris sp. (P=11.3%; IM=2.6) in Rineloricaria steinbachi. The Bermejo basin had higher species richness (S=5) than the Juramento basin (S=3). Diversity, abundance and equitability were significantly higher in the Bermejo basin (H=1.38; N=100, J=0.86) than in the Juramento basin (H=0.78; N=88, J=0.71) (P=0.001); this could be due to greater fish diversity in the Bermejo basin. The similarity between basins was 62%: they share P. (S.) hilarii and P. (S.) pintoi. Raphidascaris sp., R. (R.) acuminata and C. (C.) pinnai pinnai were found only in the Bermejo basin and Contracaecum sp. only in the Juramento basin.