Resumo

TENIA, ROBERT; FIGUEREDO, ARNALDO; LIRA, CARLOS  e  FUENTES, JOSÉ LUIS. PARASITISM AND EPIBIOSIS IN Callinectes ornatus Ordway, 1863 (CRUSTACEA: PORTUNIDAE) IN WATERS FROM SOUTHWESTERN PORLAMAR BAY, MARGARITA ISLAND, VENEZUELA. Saber [online]. 2016, vol.28, n.2, pp.197-208. ISSN 2343-6468.

Callinectes ornatus is a decapod crustacean broadly distributed in western Atlantic, with a significant ecological role and a growing socioeconomic value for coastal communities. So far, there are few studies about para sites and symbionts in this species, despite that this research could offer important data about ecological relationships in which it participates. In this study , it was proposed to assess the parasitism and epibioses in C. ornatus . One hundred crabs were obtained by angling in shallow waters, moved to the laboratory, where they were sexed, measured and examined . The obtained p arasites and epibionts were fixed in 10% formalin and, in the case of helminths, were additionally stained with acetocarmine, dehydrated with alcohol and permanently mounted with Canada balsam. Eighty nine per cent of reviewed hosts were associated with some kind of symbiosis, a ccounting for a total of 4024 symbionts, belonging to six species. Two Platyhelminth es, Helicometrina nimia and Microphallus sp. were parasites, while the rest were epibionts: algae Ulva clathrata and U. fasciata , mollusc Crepidula margarita and arthropod Octolasmis lowei. Platyhelminthes were the most significant associate s , with prevale nces of 76% and 43% , and intensities of 8 . 05 (1 - 32) and 78 . 07 (1 - 379), respectively. Some ecological implications derived from observed relationships are discussed, confirming the participation of Callinectes ornatus as basibiont for several associations.

Palavras-chave : Helicometrina nimia; Microphallus; Crepidula margarita; Ulva; Octolasmis lowei; metacercarias.