DISTRIBUTION AND ASSOCIATIONS IN COMMUNIT IES OF ECTOPARASITIC METAZOANS IN MARINE SCIAENID FISHES FROM PERU

During 1987 and 1988 971 marine sciaenid fishes from the central Peruv ian coast were examined: 237 Menticirrhus ophicephalus, 124 Paralonchu rus peruanus, 249 Sciaena deliciosa, 50 Sciaena fasciata and 311 Stell ifer minor Thirty metazoan ectoparasites were identified, 18 helminths and 12 crustaceans. Paralonchurus peruanus was the species with highe r number of ectoparasite species (11). The communities of ectoparasite s were dominated by diplectanid monogeneans. The following showed pref erence by some site of infestation in their transversal partitioning R hamnocercoides menticirrhi, Rhamnocercus spp., Diplectanum sp., Pseudo haliotrema paralonchuri, Pedocotyle annakohni, P. bravoi, Caligus call aoensis and Lernanthropus huamani. With the exception of P. peruanus, these fishes showed an overall positive association in their ectoparas ite communities. Menticirrhus ophicephalus and S. deliciosa had the mo st pairs of associated and covariated species. Paralonchurus peruanus and S. minor showed no interspecific associations. Negative interspeci fic association and covariation were not determined. The pair R. menti cirrhi - L. huamani (in M. ophicephalus) had the highest association d egree. These results suggest an absence of competitive interspecific p rocesses.