Metazoan parasite infracommunities of Menticirrhus (Teleostei : Sciaenidae): An amphi-oceanic approximation

Metazoan infracommunities of Menticirrhus ophicephalus from the south Pacif ic Ocean and M. americanus from the south Atlantic Ocean were analyzed and compared. The metazoan parasite infracommunities of M. ophicephalus showed higher values of total number of parasite individuals/host and parasite spe cies richness than that of M. americanus, but M. americanus showed higher v alues of parasite species diversity. Thr infracommunities of ectoparasites showed higher values of total number of parasite individuals/host, richness , and frequency of dominance in M. ophicephalus; in contrast, endoparasites showed higher values of these infracommunity descriptors in M. americanus. Ecological analysis of the marine fish parasite infracommunities using the total number of components (ecto- and endoparasites) could hide some patte rns of the community structure; thus, a separate analysis of only ecto- or endoparasites is recommended. Additional studies monitoring the influence o f the "upwelling ecosystem" and the El Nino-Southern oscillation event on t he fish parasite communities are necessary to determine the real influence of these ecological disturbances on the structure of fish parasite communit ies in South America.