Testing the Enemy Release Hypothesis in the Invasive Fish Amatitlania nigrofasciata (Perciformes: Cichlidae) in Mexico

• Published in: Russian journal of biological invasions Vol. 13; no. 3; pp. 385 - 391
• Main Authors: Jiménez-Sánchez, Alfredo, Sánchez-Nava, Petra, de Jesús Rodríguez-Romero, Felipe, Flores-Nava, Belem
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01-09-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abundance; Amatitlania nigrofasciata; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cichlasoma istlanum; Condition factor; Developmental Biology; Ecology; Fish; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Hypotheses; Indigenous species; Infections; Introduced species; Invasive fish; Invasive species; Life Sciences; Natural enemies; Nematodes; Nonnative species; Parameters; Parasites; Plant Sciences; Predictions; Mexico; parasites; invasive species; convict cichlid
• ISSN: 2075-1117; 2075-1125
• DOI: 10.1134/S2075111722030079

The enemy release hypothesis (ERH) posits that invasive species are released from their natural enemies in their invasive range, which promotes their successful invasion. In this study, we tested the ERH in a population of the convict cichlid
Amatitlania nigrofasciata
, an invasive species in Mexico. The ERH predicts that the convict cichlid: (a) is not infected by specialist helminth parasites in the invasive range; (b) has lower infection parameter values, as measured through richness, prevalence, abundance and diversity of helminths, than a native species—the redside cichlid
Cichlasoma istlanum
; and (c) is not affected in its condition factor by the abundance of helminths it carries. The convict cichlid was infected by two (33%) specialist helminths relative to the six specialist helminths that infect the cichlid in its native range. The convict cichlid had lower helminth richness and diversity than the redside cichlid. However, the prevalence and abundance of the parasite species varied between the host fish. While the prevalence and abundance of the nematode
Rhabdochona kidderi
was higher in the redside cichlid, the prevalence and abundance of the trematode
Uvulifer
sp. was higher in the convict cichlid. The condition factor in both host fish was not correlated with helminth abundance. Our results do not agree with the prediction that the convict cichlid is completely released from specialist parasites, nor with the prediction that this invasive species has lower infection parameter values than the native redside cichlid. However, our results agree with the prediction that the abundance of parasite helminths do not affect the cichlid’s condition factor. More studies are necessary to determine the advantages that the convict cichlid could have in the invasive range when it is infected with a low richness and diversity of helminths.