Temporal Variation in the parasitic Metazoan Communities of Sympterygia bonapartii (Condrichthyes) from the Bahia Blanca estuary in Presence of Anthropogenic Impact

SCHWERDT, CARLA B.; GUAGLIARDO, SILVIA E.; TANZOLA, RUBEN D.

Modern Approaches in Oceanography and Petrochemical Sciences

Lupine Publishers

Lugar: Nueva York; Año: 2019 vol. 3 p. 243 - 245

2637-6652

The estuary of Bahía Blanca (39° 03′44 ″ S 62° 04′00 ″ W) occupies a large coastal area south of the province of Buenos Aires,Argentina. This area includes urban centers, several industrial parks and deep-water ports. The parasites sensitivity to pollutantsand environmental disturbances makes many taxa useful indicators of environmental health and anthropogenic impact. In thepresent study, the variation in helminth communities of Sympterygia bonapartii was analyzed retrospectively after a period of 18years. Infra-communities harbored an average of four times more parasites and became less equitable. A gradual increase in organicmatter added to the parameters synergy caused by untreated sewage discharges, seems to have been the most important impacton helminth communities, altering the abundance, dominance and eveness. The present study proposes fish parasite analysis as areliable model to monitor pollution in this ecosystem.