Gill ectoparasite assemblages of two non-native Cichla populations (Perciformes, Cichlidae) in Brazilian reservoirs

The gills of 41 Cichla piquiti and 39 C. kelberi from Itaipu and Lajes reservoirs, respectively, Brazil, were examined to describe the ectoparasite assemblages of these two non-native peacock-bass populations. All ectoparasite species of the two studied hosts (C. piquiti and C. kelberi) were dominant, but Ascocotyle sp. (metacercariae) was the prevalent (58.53%) and most abundant helminth species in C. piquiti hosts, while Sciadicleithrum ergensi was the dominant species in C. kelberi hosts. Gill ectoparasites of C. piquiti and C. kelberi showed a typical pattern of overdispersion or aggregation, which is commonly reported for many other freshwater fishes. Ectoparasite prevalence and abundance did not vary between host sexes of the two Cichla populations. The prevalence and abundance of Ascocotyle sp. were positively correlated with C. piquiti standard length (SL), but only the abundance of S. ergensi showed a positive correlation with C. kelberi SL. Although environmental differences between reservoirs might also have influenced the results, we anticipated that the presence of a close congener in Itaipu reservoir and the lack of other Cichla species in Lajes reservoir were the key factors to explain the contrasts between C. piquiti and C. kelberi gill ectoparasites. Overall, our results suggest that the trend of parasite species loss through the invasion process may have contributed to the establishment of non-native C. piquiti and C. kelberi populations in Brazilian reservoirs.