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Patterns of infracommunity species richness in eels, Anguilla anguilla

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2024

J. Norton ,
D. Rollinson  and
J.W. Lewis
J. Norton*
Affiliation:
Wolfson Wellcome Biomedical Laboratories, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK, : School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK
D. Rollinson
Affiliation:
Wolfson Wellcome Biomedical Laboratories, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK, :
J.W. Lewis
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK
*
*Fax: +44(0) 207 942 5054 Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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Between October 1999 and October 2001, a total of 510 European eels Anguilla anguilla were captured in 13 different samples from the rivers Thames (five locations) and Test (one location) in southern England. The relationship between parasite component community species richness (CCR) and maximum infracommunity species richness (ICRmax) compared with that previously observed in bird and mammal hosts. Specifically, the maximum number of parasite species occurring in infracommunities equalled or exceeded half the number of parasite species in the component community at that time, across a wide range of CCR values (2–9 parasite species). Furthermore, the frequency distribution of infracommunity richness (ICR) suggested that the species composition of infracommunities is probably random. These findings suggest that intestinal macroparasite infracommunities in eels are unsaturated and potentially species rich assemblages and, in these respects, share a fundamental similarity with the infracommunities of birds and mammals.

Type
Review Article
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 78 , Issue 2 , June 2004 , pp. 141 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004

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