Ecología ectoparasitaria del lenguado de California (Paralichthys californicus) y el lenguado diamante (Pleuronichthys guttulatus) en el Pacífico Norte de Baja California, México

Ectoparasite ecology of the California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) and the diamond turbot (Pleuronichthys guttulatus) in the North Pacific of Baja California, Mexico

Grecia Daniela del Carmen Esquivel Mondragón (2024, [Tesis de maestría])

El lenguado de California (Paralichthys californicus) ocupa el primer lugar según el índice de importancia de la comunidad (ICI) en el Estero Punta Banda (EPB), Baja California (México), y el segundo lugar en Bahía San Quintín (BSQ), mientras que el lenguado diamante (Pleuronichthys guttulatus) se ubica en tercer lugar de importancia en BSQ. Sin embargo, se conoce poco acerca de su parasitismo, lo que puede afectar su ecología. Se recolectaron 122 lenguados de P. californicus y 59 de P. guttulatus en EPB, BSQ y Laguna Manuela (LM), B.C., desde verano 2022 a primavera 2023, se identificaron once especies de ectoparásitos en ambos hospederos y se evaluó su prevalencia (p), abundancia (ap), intensidad (i) y frecuencia de ocurrencia (fo) por hospedero, localidades y estaciones del año (t), y las ap se correlacionaron con temperatura superficial del agua, surgencias, t y localidades. El lenguado de California, P. californicus, presentó diez especies de ectoparásitos y aquellas con mayores índices fueron Lepeophteirus sp. (p: 100%, ap: 16.5, i: 65, fo: 81.4%) en LM durante invierno 2023, Pontogeneia sp. (p: 50%, a: 2.3, i: 10, fo: 25.4%) en LM durante otoño 2022, y tanto Entobdella hippoglossi (p: 44.4%, a: 1.1, i: 6, fo: 15.3%) y Acanthochondria sp. (p: 22.2%, ap: 0.7, i: 5, fo: 6.8%) en LM durante invierno 2023. P. californicus mostró cambios significativos de ap contra las localidades, aunque sin cambios para t, y todas sus correlaciones (longitud total (lt), peso y ap versus t, surgencias, temperatura del agua y sitios) fueron significativas a excepción de ap contra t. Para el lenguado P. guttulatus se identificaron cinco especies de parásitos destacando con mayores índices al copépodo Lepeophteirus sp. (p: 100%, ap: 1, i: 1, fo: 19.1%) en EPB durante primavera 2023. Se presentaron diferencias significativas de ap con respecto al t, mientras que lt contra t, surgencias y temperatura del agua presentaron únicamente correlaciones positivas. Los parásitos de peces son importantes componentes naturales de sistemas ecológicos marinos, y debido a la sensibilidad de la relación huésped-parásito a cambios ambientales, su estudio permitiría generalizar respuestas en hospederos con el aumento o disminución de parásitos.

The California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) has the highest community importance index (ICI) in Estero Punta Banda (EPB), Baja California (Mexico), and the second highest in Bahia San Quintín (BSQ), and the diamond turbot (Pleuronichthys guttulatus) holds the third highest ICI in BSQ. A total of 122 individuals of P. californicus and 59 of P. guttulatus were collected in EPB, BSQ and Laguna Manuela (LM), B.C., from summer 2022 to spring 2023. However, very little is known about fish parasitism, which can affect host ecology in these sites. Eleven ectoparasite species were identified in both hosts and the parasite prevalence (p), abundance (pa), intensity (i), and frequency of occurrence (fo) were determined for each host, collection sites and seasons (t), the pa was related to water temperature, upwelling condition, t and sites. P. californicus presented ten species, and those with the highest indices were Lepeophteirus sp. (p: 100%, pa: 16.5, i: 65, fo: 81.4%) in LM during winter 2023, Pontogeneia sp. (p: 50%, a: 2.3, i: 10, fo: 25.4%) in LM during autumn 2022, and both Entobdella hippoglossi (p: 44.4%, pa: 1.1, i: 6, fo: 15.3%) and Acanthochondria sp. (p: 22.2%, pa: 0.7, i: 5, fo: 6.8%) in LM during winter 2023. The halibut P. californicus showed significance in pa regarding the sites, although with no change across t, and its correlations (total length (tl), mean weight, and pa versus t, upwellings, temperature and sites) showed significance, except for ap against t. Five parasites were identified in P. guttulatus, with the copepod Lepeophteirus sp. showing the highest indices (p: 100%, pa: 1, i: 1, fo: 19.1%) in EPB during spring 2023; the turbot P. guttulatus presented differences in pa regarding t, and its tl was correlated significantly with t, upwelling conditions and water temperature. Fish parasites are an important natural component of marine ecological systems and because the host-parasite relationship is sensitive to environmental changes, studying this relationship can allow for generalizing responses in hosts with an increased or decreased levels of parasites.

Lenguado de California y diamante, ectoparásitos, prevalencia, abundancia, intensidad California halibut and diamond turbot, ectoparasites, prevalence, abundance, intensity CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS AGRARIAS PECES Y FAUNA SILVESTRE LOCALIZACIÓN DE PECES LOCALIZACIÓN DE PECES

Assessing the Response of Nematode Communities to Climate Change-Driven Warming: A Microcosm Experiment

RUTH GINGOLD WERMUTH (2013, [Artículo])

Biodiversity has diminished over the past decades with climate change being among the main responsible factors. One consequence of climate change is the increase in sea surface temperature, which, together with long exposure periods in intertidal areas, may exceed the tolerance level of benthic organisms. Benthic communities may suffer structural changes due to the loss of species or functional groups, putting ecological services at risk. In sandy beaches, free-living marine nematodes usually are the most abundant and diverse group of intertidal meiofauna, playing an important role in the benthic food web. While apparently many functionally similar nematode species co-exist temporally and spatially, experimental results on selected bacterivore species suggest no functional overlap, but rather an idiosyncratic contribution to ecosystem functioning. However, we hypothesize that functional redundancy is more likely to observe when taking into account the entire diversity of natural assemblages. We conducted a microcosm experiment with two natural communities to assess their stress response to elevated temperature. The two communities differed in diversity (high [HD] vs. low [LD]) and environmental origin (harsh vs. moderate conditions). We assessed their stress resistance to the experimental treatment in terms of species and diversity changes, and their function in terms of abundance, biomass, and trophic diversity. According to the Insurance Hypothesis, we hypothesized that the HD community would cope better with the stressful treatment due to species functional overlap, whereas the LD community functioning would benefit from species better adapted to harsh conditions. Our results indicate no evidence of functional redundancy in the studied nematofaunal communities. The species loss was more prominent and size specific in the HD; large predators and omnivores were lost, which may have important consequences for the benthic food web. Yet, we found evidence for alternative diversity-ecosystem functioning relationships, such as the Rivets and the Idiosyncrasy Model. © 2013 Gingold et al.

aquaculture, article, bacterivore, benthos, biodiversity, biomass, climate, community dynamics, controlled study, ecosystem, environmental temperature, microcosm, nematode, nonhuman, population abundance, species diversity, species richness, taxonomy CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OCEANOGRAFÍA OCEANOGRAFÍA

Effects of geostrophic kinetic energy on the distribution of mesopelagic fish larvae in the southern Gulf of California in summer/fall stratified seasons

FERNANDO CONTRERAS CATALA (2016, [Artículo])

Effects of geostrophic kinetic energy flux on the three-dimensional distribution of fish larvae of mesopelagic species (Vinciguerria lucetia, Diogenichthys laternatus, Benthosema panamense and Triphoturus mexicanus) in the southern Gulf of California during summer and fall seasons of stronger stratification were analyzed. The greatest larval abundance was found at sampling stations in geostrophic kinetic energy-poor areas (<7.5 J/m3), where the distribution of the dominant species tended to be stratified. Larvae of V. lucetia (average abundance of 318 larvae/10m2) and B. panamense (174 larvae/10m2) were mostly located in and above the pycnocline (typically ∼ 40 m depth). In contrast, larvae of D. laternatus (60 larvae/10m2) were mainly located in and below the pycnocline. On the other hand, in sampling stations from geostrophic kinetic energy-rich areas (> 21 J/m3), where mesoscale eddies were present, the larvae of the dominant species had low abundance and were spread more evenly through the water column, in spite of the water column stratification. For example, in a cyclonic eddy, V. lucetia larvae (34 larvae/10m2) extended their distribution to, at least, the limit of sampling 200 m depth below the pycnocline, while D. laternatus larvae (29 larvae/10m2) were found right up to the surface, both probably as a consequence mixing and secondary circulation in the eddy. Results showed that the level of the geostrophic kinetic energy flux affects the abundance and the three-dimensional distribution of mesopelagic fish larvae during the seasons of stronger stratification, indicating that areas with low geostrophic kinetic energy may be advantageous for feeding and development of mesopelagic fish larvae because of greater water column stability. © 2016 Contreras-Catala et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Article, autumn, Benthosema panamense, Diogenichthys laternatus, environmental factor, environmental parameters, fish, geographic distribution, geostrophic kinetic energy, hydrography, larva, nonhuman, population abundance, population dispersion, pop CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OCEANOGRAFÍA OCEANOGRAFÍA

Trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal colonies using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes

MARICELA JUAREZ RODRIGUEZ (2020, [Artículo])

There is limited information that provides a comprehensive understanding of the trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) colonies. While scat analysis has been used to determine the diet of some colonies, the integrative characterization of its feeding habits on broader temporal and spatial scales remains limited. We examined potential feeding grounds, trophic niche width, and overlap, and inferred the degree of dietary specialization using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) in this subspecies. We analyzed δ13C and δ15N on fur samples from pups collected at five sites along the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Fur of natal coat of Pacific harbor seal pups begins to grow during the seventh month in utero until the last stage of gestation. Therefore pup fur is a good proxy for the mother's feeding habits in winter (∼December to March), based on the timing of gestation for the subspecies in this region. Our results indicated that the δ13C and δ15N values differed significantly among sampling sites, with the highest mean δ15N value occurring at the southernmost site, reflecting a well-characterized north to south latitudinal 15N-enrichment in the food web. The tendency identified in δ13C values, in which the northern colonies showed the most enriched values, suggests nearshore and benthic-demersal feeding habits. A low variance in δ13C and δ15N values for each colony (<1‰) and relatively small standard ellipse areas suggest a specialized foraging behavior in adult female Pacific harbor seals in Mexican waters. © 2020 Juárez-Rodríguez et al.

carbon, delta carbon 13, delta nitrogen 15, isotope, nitrogen, unclassified drug, carbon, nitrogen, Article, correlational study, feeding behavior, latitude, Mexico, nonhuman, organism colony, Pinnipedia, population abundance, species richness, troph BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)