Follow-up trends of parasite community alteration in a marine fish after the Prestige oil-spill: Shifting baselines?

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) Vol. 157; no. 1; pp. 221 - 228
• Main Authors: Pérez-del-Olmo, A., Montero, F.E., Raga, J.A., Fernández, M., Kostadinova, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; animal parasites and pests; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Boops boops; community structure; Disasters; Ecology - methods; Ecosystem; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Fish Diseases - parasitology; Fuel Oils - toxicity; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Host-Parasite Interactions; marine fish; Multivariate analysis; North East Atlantic; oil spills; Oil-spill; Parasite communities; Parasites - physiology; Parasitic Diseases, Animal; Perciformes - parasitology; Population Density; Sea water ecosystems; Seawater; Spain; species diversity; Synecology; Time Factors; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; water pollution; Atlantic Ocean; Spain; East Atlantic; North Atlantic; North East Atlantic; Boops boops; Oil-spill; Multivariate analysis; Parasite communities; Oil spill; Hydrocarbon; Prestige oil spill; Alteration; Parasite; Marine environment; Aquatic environment; Vertebrata; Pollution; Pisces; Trend analysis; Environment; Community; Organic compounds
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2008.07.010

This study evaluates the follow-up trends in the composition and structure of the parasite communities in the marine sparid
Boops boops after the
Prestige oil-spill. A total of 400 fish comprising 11 seasonal samples was analyzed from three impacted localities on the Atlantic coast of Spain. A large number of parasite species was recovered only after the spill thus suggesting a substantial alteration of the marine food webs. Post-spill communities exhibited higher richness and abundance due to the significant changes in the abundance of the common species, the latter indicating accelerated parasite transmission rates. Multivariate analyses at two nested scales detected a directional trend in parasite community succession towards the pre-spill situation, however, with no full support for community recovery. The state of parasite communities in 2005–2006 may provide the new baseline data which can serve as a framework for quantifying the impact of potential future spills in the region.
Prestige oil-spill impact on parasite communities in the sparid fish
B. boops.