ONTOGENIC AND BETWEEN-YEAR VARIATIONS IN THE INFRACOMMUNITIES OF METAZOAN PARASITES OF 2 MARINE FISH HOST SPECIES FROM CHILE

We analyze whether the relationships between the host ontogeny and the richness, abundance, diversity and composition of the parasite infrac ommunities persist between years of sampling, in two species of marine fishes (Scorpaenidae) from the Southeastern Pacific Ocean. Two sample s of the rockfish Sebastes capensis (Gmelin 1788) were obtained in 199 2 and 1993, and other two samples of the rockfish Helicolenus lengeric hi Norman 1937 were collected in 1988 and 1993, from artisanal landing s at Talcahuano, Chile. In S. capensis, the more abundant taxon was th e acanthocephalan Corynosoma sp. In H. lengerichi, the more frequent a nd abundant parasite taxa were the nematode Anisakis sp., at larval st age, and the ectoparasite Juanettia continentalis. Ontogenetic variati ons in the composition, richness, abundance and diversity were found o nly in parasite infracommunities of H. lengerichi. There were signific ant differences in composition of infracommunities between years in th e two host species. However, no significant differences in diversity, richness and total abundance in the infracommunities were found betwee n years in any host species. These results suggest that quantitative a ttributes of infracommunities would be a more persistent characteristi c than their taxonomic composition. The importance of the energetic de mands of the host in determining infracommunity patterns are discussed .