First record of parasitism by Probopyrus pandalicola (Isopoda, Bopyridae) on the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium acanthur

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

First record of parasitism by Probopyrus pandalicola (Isopoda, Bopyridae) on the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium acanthurus (Decapoda, Palaemonidae) and ecological interactions Matheus Souza Ferreira de Barros1 Tereza Cristina dos Santos Calado2



Luiz Soares da Silva Neto2



Received: 10 August 2020 / Accepted: 29 October 2020 Ó Indian Society for Parasitology 2020

Abstract In this study, we aimed to record, for the first time, parasitic infestation by the isopod Probopyrus pandalicola on the prawn Macrobrachium acanthurus, as well as to register some ecological interactions. We hypothesized that the parasitic infection is able to negatively affect the prawn’s nutritional condition and that this interaction can modify growth relationships in male individuals. We collected both parasitized (n = 25) and parasite-free (n = 25) individuals in several locations of the Contas River, state of Bahia, Brazil, which had their morphometric characteristics determined, including of the parasites. Relative growth models were constructed for both groups in order to compare slopes and intercepts and determine if the growth patterns are modified by the parasite. We also determined the body condition of the prawns, which was also compared between the two groups. Our results clearly demonstrated that the parasitic infection is able to induce modifications in relative growth patterns in male individuals and that this isopod is capable of reducing the nutritional condition of the prawns. This study indicates that this parasite can induce deleterious effects in the prawn, but individually. Further studies should be conducted to assess the relevance of our findings in conservation and management.

& Matheus Souza Ferreira de Barros [email protected] 1

Laborato´rio de Ecologia de Peixes e Pesca (LAEPP) da Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Instituto de Cieˆncias Biolo´gicas e da Sau´de, Maceio´, Brazil

2

Laborato´rios Integrados de Cieˆncias do Mar e Naturais da Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Setor de Crusta´ceos, Maceio´, Brazil

Keywords Crustacea  Condition factor  Animal health  Infestation

Introduction The genus Macrobrachium (Bate, 1868) includes species commonly found in lentic and lotic environments (Coelho and Ramos-Porto 1984) and are also widely exploited in both aquaculture and artisanal fisheries, being an important source of economic development in many latin american regions (Thompson 1980; Maciel and Valenti 2009; Garcı´a-Guerrero et al. 2015). The species Macrobrachium acanthurus (Wiegmann, 1836) is a prawn that usually inhabits estuarine and freshwater environments across Latin America, where they can be found underneath rocks and among aquatic vegetation (Coelho 1963). Because of its large body size (females can attain around 108 mm and males 138 mm of body size) (Valenti et al. 1986), this prawn is very commonly exploited by artisanal fisheries around many regions in Latin America (New et al. 2000). Parasitic interactions among isopods and prawns are common and reasonably well kn