Effects of prey density on nocturnal zooplankton predation throughout the ontogeny of juvenile <Emphasis Type="Italic">Platax orbicularis</Emphasis> (Teleostei: Ephippidae)

Juvenile Platax orbicularis switches foraging tactics from diurnal herbivory to nocturnal zooplanktivory within a day. To examine how juvenile fish actively feed on zooplankton prey during nighttime, a field-recorded video analysis was conducted in the reefs off Kuchierabu-jima Island, southern Japan. Juveniles consistently showed fast and sudden attacks that were accurately directed at individual zooplankton prey, and changed feeding frequencies with different prey densities. A negative relationship was observed between feeding frequency and prey density, with higher feeding frequencies occurring at lower prey concentrations, implying a disturbance effect of clouded zooplankton prey on the juvenile fish. A clear transition from a ram-based to a suction-based feeding mode was observed with fish size, suggesting that changes in the feeding behaviors occur even in juveniles fishes, without drastic morphological changes.     

Mechanisms of selectivity in a nocturnal fish: a lack of active prey choice

Fish that feed on individual zooplankton usually exhibit strong selectivity for large prey. Such selectivity can result from the predator’s active choice of larger prey or from differential encounter rate due to lower detectability of small prey, or both. In diurnal fishes, selectivity is thought to be determined mostly by active choice. In spite of a lack of direct observations, active choice is also considered the prevailing mechanism of prey selectivity in nocturnal fishes. Our objective was to resolve this mechanism in the highly selective, nocturnal zooplanktivorous fish Apogon annularis. Laboratory experiments indicated that the fish’s encounter rate with small prey was lower than that with large prey and that its selectivity became stronger with decreasing light intensity. Feeding efficiency, defined as the ratio between feeding and encounter rates, ranged 41–89% and was positively correlated with prey size. When feeding on a mixture of prey sizes, the fish fed on each size group at a rate similar to that of its feeding on the respective size alone, indicating that selectivity in A. annularis was due to size-dependent encounter rate and differential feeding efficiency. A low visual acuity in A. annularis, as inferred from its inability to detect small prey (<0.9 mm in length), together with the low abundance of large zooplankton in situ, can explain the dominance of differential encounter over active choice in this nocturnal coral-reef fish.     

武汉东湖后湖区浮游甲壳动物群落结构的研究

武汉东湖后湖湖区浮游甲壳动物群落结构从60年代至90年代发生了十分显的变化。浮游甲壳动物的物种丰度下降非常明显,枝角类的种类数从60年代的47种下降至90年代的17种,桡足类的种类数由60年代的14种下降为90年代的9种。60年代枝角类的优势种隆线Sou一亚种在90年代被短尾秀体Sou所取代,60年代的两种优势哲水蚤－长江新镖水蚤与特异荡镖水蚤的优势在90年代消失,而60年代很少的一种剑水蚤－台湾温剑水蚤在90年代跃升为优势种。随着滤食性鱼类密度的上升,枝角类的密度从60年代至90年代显下降。哲水蚤1997及1998年的密度明显低于60年代的密度。研究表明,浮游甲壳动物群落物种丰度的下降与后湖湖区沉水植被的退化有关,而优势种的演替主要受滤食性鱼类密度的影响。     

Feeding ecology of pelagic fish species in the Gulf of Riga (Baltic Sea): the importance of changes in the zooplankton community

The feeding ecology of four pelagic fish species was studied in relation to their prey availability in the Gulf of Riga (Baltic Sea) during the summer 1999-2006. The zooplankton community was dominated by the cladoceran Bosmina longispina, rotifers Keratella cochlearis and K. quadrata and the copepod Eurytemora affinis, with the highest interannual variability in abundance recorded for B. longispina. The last influenced the diet of adult sprat Sprattus sprattus, juvenile smelt Osmerus eperlanus and three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus as these were strongly selecting for B. longispina. The fish feeding activity did not match the abundance dynamics of their preferred prey, suggesting that fishes may switch to consume other prey in case the preferred diet was limited. A considerable dietary overlap indicated high potential competition between pelagic fish species. While herring Clupea harengus membras and G. aculeatus were relying on very different food, the diets of young O. eperlanus and G. aculeatus were very similar. Interannual variability in zooplankton composition and abundance significantly affected the diet composition of fishes, but those changes were insufficient to exert a consistent influence upon fish feeding activity and total amounts of zooplankton consumed.     

The influence of flood cycle and fish predation on invertebrate production on a restored California floodplain

Although floodplains are known to be tightly controlled by the flood cycle, we know comparatively little about how flooding influences predators and their consumption of secondary production, particularly in highly seasonal floodplains typical of Mediterranean climates. In this study, we investigate how the seasonal dynamics of a central California floodplain influence the timing and magnitude of fish predation and the abundance and composition of invertebrates. For 3 years (2000–2002), we compared changes in abundances and size distributions of invertebrates through the flood season (January–June) with seasonal changes in the abundance of larval and juvenile fishes. Using diet analysis of fishes and manipulative feeding experiments with fishes in field enclosures, we link specific changes in invertebrate populations directly to feeding preferences of seasonally abundant fish. Early in the flood season prior to March, we found little influence of fish predation, consistent with the near absence of larval and juvenile fishes during this period. Coinciding with the midseason increase in the abundance of larval and juvenile fishes in April, we found significant declines in zooplankton abundance as well as declines in the size of zooplankton consistent with fish feeding preferences. Our results were consistent with results from feeding enclosure experiments that showed that fish rapidly depressed populations of larger cladocerans with much less effect on smaller cladocerans and calanoid copepods. At the end of the flood season, zooplankton abundances rapidly increased, consistent with a switch in the feeding of juvenile fish to aquatic insects and subsequent fish mortality. We also found that zooplankton biomass on the floodplain reached a maximum 2–3 weeks after disconnection with the river. We suggest that floodplain restoration in this region should consider management strategies that would ensure repeated flooding every 2–3 weeks during periods that would best match the peaks in abundance of native fishes. Electronic supplementary material Electronic supplementary material is available for this article at and accessible for authorised users.     

Differential zooplankton feeding behaviors,selectivities, and community impacts of two planktivorous fishes

Synopsis We examined the feeding behaviors and selectives of two common planktivorous fishes, pumpkinseeds Lepomis gibbosa and fathead minnows Pimephales promelas in the laboratory. Ingestion rates for both pumpkinseeds and fathead minnows feeding on zooplankton increased as a function of fish length. Pumpkinseeds fed on zooplankton strictly as particulate feeders, with preferences increasing as a function of zooplankton body size regardless of taxonomic identity. Preferences were highest for large Daphnia, intermediate for intermediate-sized copepods, and lowest for small Ceriodaphnia. Fathead minnows displayed the ability to use both particulate-feeding and filter-feeding behaviors. Differential preferences tended to reflect both zooplankton size and taxon, being highest for large, slow-swimming Daphnia, intermediate for small Ceriodaphnia, and lowest for faster-swimming copepods. These differences in prey capture behaviors and preferences of the two fishes are reflected in the zooplankton taxonomic composition of small ponds containing each fish type. The crustacean zooplankton assemblages in ponds containing both pumpkinseeds and fathead minnows were dominated by copepods. Cladocerans were rare. In ponds containing pumpkinseeds, but no fathead minnows, cladocerans were abundant, generally accounting for up to 80% of total crustacean zooplankton biomass. These results suggest that the type of planktivore, and not simply the presence or abundance of planktivores in a system, can determine zooplankton community structure.     

Zooplankton,fish and fisheries in tropical freshwaters

About 40% of all fish species occur in freshwater, although only 1% of the globe is occupied by freshwaters. The tropics harbour a high percentage of these fishes. Freshwater zooplankton on the other hand is far less diverse than its marine counterpart and the tropics do not harbour a markedly high percentage of freshwater species either. The antecedents of freshwater zooplankton appear to have come from riverine and terrestrial habitats via temporary habitats (ponds, floodplains). The present zooplankton composition has also been shaped by, among other factors, the highly efficient zooplanktivorous modern teleosts which have restricted the formerly widespread Branchiopoda mainly to fishless freshwaters. Those Branchiopoda frequently co-existing with fishes (Cladocera) have their size composition strongly influenced by fish predation. Circumstantial evidence indicates that pelagic zooplankton (Cladocera, Copepoda, Rotifera) appear to provide a relatively scarce food supply relative to the littoral region for the early stages of fishes. Also, unpredictability of zooplankton may be involved here. These factors have led to the loss of planktonic eggs and the siting of fish breeding in shallow littoral situations, where other animal foods besides zooplankton are also available, especially for later stages of juvenile fish. The Ostariophysi breed in the shallow expanses of flood waters while the Cichlidae, some of which breed like Ostariophysi, also breed in standing waters in the littoral of lakes or floodplains. In all these locations zooplankton and benthic organisms, especially insects, are available. The cichlids are, in addition, provided with parental care. Predation on young fishes is also reduced by these strategies. Young fishes may also be adapted to feed on patches of zooplankton and other food in their breeding grounds. Tropical pelagic clupeids and cyprinids may breed continuously. Some of these clupeids in rivers breed at low water.Zooplankton, supplemented by other animal food is more critical to achieving the potential fish yields in the tropics than in temperate freshwaters because fish yields in the tropics can be very high indeed. The high metabolic rate of young fishes in the tropics adds to the demand for food. Tropical freshwaters have a relatively high primary production but a low zooplankton/phytoplankton ratio. Zooplankton is kept small in size and biomass by continuous predation. Herbivorous fishes can sustain very high fish yields in the tropics but they must have a high fecundity and high survival of young produced seasonally, mainly in rivers or even continuously as in lakes and reservoirs to weather predation. Rich littoral zooplankton and benthos combined with omnivory and a higher efficiency in the use of the available animal food by newly hatched fishes may be critical factors linking fish yields to zooplankton in tropical freshwaters. The ability of herbivorous tilapias to give very high fish yields in shallow tropical lakes may also be due to their efficient use of animal food, algae and microphagy in young stages besides other favourable adaptations like opportunistic feeding on detrities and the ability to feed on and digest cyanobacteria, abundant in the tropics.     

A preliminary study of parasite diversity in the anadromous Kamchatkan mikizha Parasalmo mykiss mykiss (Osteichthyes: Salmoniformes: Salmonidae)

The study of parasites associated with the anadromous mikizha from several rivers of the Western Kamchatka has revealed 44 parasite species. The majority of parasites (59%) belong to marine and estuarine-marine species. Lecithophyllum bothryophorum, Echinorhynchus leidyi and plerocercoids of the family Litobothriidae were found for the first time in anadromous fish entering into Asian continental watersheds. It has been revealed that only a few specimens of the anadromous mikizha feed in fresh waters. Most of feeding fish consume a minor amount of food, and this feeding is occasional. Young forms of intestinal parasites of the freshwater and estuarine-freshwater groups (Neoechinorhynchus spp., Crepidostomum spp., Cucullanus truttae, Eubothrium salvelinf) come into anadromous fishes mainly before their entering in fresh waters.     

Optimal foraging and feeding mode shifts in fishes

Synopsis Most optimal foraging models for fishes are based on particulate feeding behavior. But many obligate planktivores also filter zooplankton. I suggest that feeding mode shifts (e.g. from particulate feeding to filtering) may be predictable from the costs and benefits of foraging in various modes. Quantitative examples of feeding mode shifts in three species of fishes (northern anchovy, pacific mackerel and alewife) from 3 different families support this hypothesis. Feeding mode shifts seem to depend on relative profitability of each mode, but improvements in model predictions will need to include the effects of spatial and temporal patchiness on encounter rates of prey of various sizes.     

Effect of naturally changing zooplankton concentrations on feeding rates of two coral species in the Eastern Pacific

Zooplankton concentrations are known to vary by as much as an order of magnitude over a lunar cycle. Here, we conducted an experiment to determine the effect of ambient zooplankton concentrations over a lunar cycle on feeding rates of the corals Pavona gigantea (Verrill) (mounding coral, 3.0 mm diameter polyps) and Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus) (branching coral, 1.0 mm diameter polyps) in situ on a shallow reef at Isla Contadora, Gulf of Panamá (Pacific), Panamá. Coral fragments exposed to either enhanced or ambient zooplankton concentrations were allowed to feed for 1 h, collected, and their gut contents dissected. The number of zooplankton captured was counted, feeding rates calculated per cm², and the species composition of captured zooplankton assemblages determined. Although both species captured the same zooplankton assemblage, feeding rates were always significantly higher for P. gigantea than for P. damicornis. Under ambient flow and zooplankton concentrations, feeding rates were highly correlated with zooplankton concentration in the 200-400 μm size class. Under constantly enhanced zooplankton concentrations in the control fragments, feeding rates did not vary significantly over the lunar cycle. As such, coral feeding rates vary not as a result of lunar phase per se, but with changes in zooplankton abundance over the lunar cycle. Coral feeding rates are directly proportional to ambient zooplankton concentrations and may vary by as much as 50% over a lunar cycle, suggesting that corals must cope with major swings in sources of fixed carbon and nutrients over relatively short timescales.     

Observations on the food habits of Clarias gariepinus Burchell,the South African freshwater barbel (Pisces: Clariidae) in Transvaal

Clarias gariepinus is a general carnivorous feeder whose food consists mainly of fishes, terrestrial invertebrates, aquatic insects and zooplankton. The proportion in which these food items are eaten vary considerably and instances of emergency and preferential feeding are discussed. The barbel is an indiscriminate feeder and the presence of large quantities of non-animal material, which are of little food value to a carnivorous species, must be regarded as incidental.     

A review of planktivorous fishes: Their evolution,feeding behaviours,selectivities, and impacts

The classical approach of limnologists has been to consider the interactions between lake ecosystem components as an unidirectional flow of influence from nutrients to the phytoplankton, to the zooplankton, and finally to the fish, through successive controls by physical, chemical, and biological processes (Strakraba, 1967). The effect of planktivorous fishes on zooplankton and phytoplankton communities was not recognized until the studies of Hrbáek et al. (1961), Hrbáek (1962), Brooks & Dodson (1965) and Strakraba (1965). They showed that (1) in ponds and lakes in the presence of planktivorous fishes the zooplankton communities were composed of smaller bodied species than in those lacking planktivores, and (2) the resulting small-bodied zooplankton communities affected the phytoplankton communities. Although the variability of the phytoplankton response to fish predation showed the importance of other factors (such as nutrient limitation and interspecific competition of algae), these studies emphasized that zooplankton and phytoplankton communities can be affected by the feeding selectivity of planktivorous fishes. During the last two decades, many limnological studies have focused on this dramatic impact of fish on plankton communities. The direct response of zooplankton communities to visual fish predation (i.e. particulate feeding) has been of major interest, whereas the multilevel effects of filter-feeding fish (predation on zooplankton plus grazing on phytoplankton) have been neglected. The objectives of this review are to document fish-plankton interrelationships in order to (1) provide insights into the impact of fish on plankton communities, and (2) outline mechanistic models of planktivory according to the feeding repertory and the selectivity of the fish, the adaptive responses of the plankton, and the environmental conditions.The approach adopted here is based on field and laboratory experimental results derived from the literature on tropical and temperate freshwater (occasionally marine) systems. Four types of planktivorous fish are distinguished: the gape-limited larvae and small fish species, the particulate feeders, the pump filter feeders, and the tow-net filter feeders. For each type of planktivore, the mechanisms of prey selection are analyzed from the point of view of both the predator and the prey. To investigate the main determinants of the predator feeding selectivity, and to discuss its potential effects on prey communities, the predation-act is divided into a sequence of successive events (Holling, 1966): detection, pursuit, capture, retention, and digestion for particulate feeders; and capture, retention, and digestion for filter feeders. The strengths and weaknesses of various measures of selectivity (i.e. electivity indices), as well as their appropriate usages are considered. Available prey selection models and optimal foraging theories are analyzed for the different planktivore feeding modes. Mechanistic models based on Holling's (loc. cit.) approach are proposed for each feeding mode to determine differential prey vulnerabilities and optimal diet breadth.This review has application to several fields, including general ecology, limnology, fisheries management (for example, utilization of planktonic resources, stocking, introduction, or maintenance of natural fish populations), and biological control of the eutrophication processes (biomanipulation approaches). It emphasizes the real need for more knowledge of the feeding selectivity and food utilization of planktivores. It concludes that predator and prey are mutually adapted. Thus, in most cases, study of plankton dynamics and water quality should include the assessment of fish predation and grazing pressures.     

Feeding patterns of the dominant benthic and demersal fish community in a temperate estuary

The diet and feeding relationships of the 12 most abundant benthic and demersal fish species of the Mondego Estuary, Portugal, were studied between June 2003 and May 2006. Fishes were caught during the night using a 2 m beam trawl. The stomach contents were analysed for prey identification, counting and weighing. According to prey importance in diets, three main feeding guilds were identified: (1) invertebrate feeders, (2) invertebrate and fish feeders and (3) plankton and invertebrate feeders. Besides these main feeding guilds, some fishes also presented fractions of algae and zooplankton in their stomach contents. The most abundant prey items were macroinvertebrates, with several polychaetes ( Nephtys spp., Capitellidae, Spionidae and Eunicidae), Corophium spp. and Crangon crangon among the dominant prey. Pomatoschistus spp. were the most preyed on fishes. Several fish species showed a tendency for a specialized diet, but almost all also showed some degree of opportunistic feeding by preying on other food resources. High diet overlap was found between some fish species, yet exploitative competition could not be concluded.     

Parasitic diseases of cultured marine finfishes and their surveillance in China

More than 40 species of marine fishes are cultured in China and a wide variety of parasites are reported as lethal pathogens of these fishes in culture conditions. In the case of net cages, the culture facilities provides a good substrate for monogenean eggs to become entangled and the intensive aggregation of fishes facilitates the transmission of parasites between hosts. Relatively thorough studies on parasitic pathogens of marine fishes in China predominately concern the ciliate Cryptocaryon irritans and capsalid monogeneans (mainly Benedenia sp. and Neobenedenia sp.). Although nearly all such reports are related to treatment procedures, no single method has proved to be adequate for the effective control of these parasitic pathogens in marine cultured fishes. The National Fisheries Technology Extension Center (NFTEC) has established surveillance systems to monitor the diseases of aquaculture, including the parasitic diseases of maricultured fishes. The national monitoring stations for diseases of cultured marine fishes are distributed in the coastal counties or cities and provide remote in situ diagnoses of diseased fishes. International cooperation and effort are required for the control of parasitic diseases of marine finfish because of both the increasing international trade of eggs (seed) and larvae and commercial products in terms of live marine finfishes, which can readily result in the transmission of pathogens.     

Assessing the statistical power of genetic analyses to detect multiple mating in fishes

Blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus , two large-bodied piscivore-omnivores in Lake Texoma, Texas-Oklahoma, U.S.A., showed very high overlap in food use, but substantial differences in use of habitat during the year. Both species primarily ate fishes, aquatic insects, vegetation and detritus, terrestrial insects, seeds and zooplankton, with overall overlap = 98%. Diet breadth indices were very similar (blue catfish=4.31, channel catfish = 4.53). Quantitative and qualitative feeding varied seasonally and food habits changed ontogenetically. Feeding intensity was greatest in winter and lowest in late summer. Aquatic insects were eaten more from May to October and fishes more in winter. At body sizes from 100 to 299 mm L_s , both species primarily ate aquatic insects, terrestrial insects, fishes or zooplankton, whereas the diets of individuals >300 mm L_s of both species were dominated by fishes. Overall, their overlap in distribution across major habitat types was only 58%, with blue catfish most abundant in deep water offshore, and channel catfish more common in shallow cove habitats. Blue catfish that did occur in coves were in the deeper parts of those habitats, essentially not occurring in the littoral zone. In lakes without blue catfish, channel catfish are widely dispersed in various habitats and it is suspected that displacement of channel catfish by blue catfish may influence habitat differences of the two species in Lake Texoma. Because the spatial separation of the species also reflects their typical interspecific differences in unimpounded drainages, however, the habitat differences observed in Lake Texoma probably also reflect evolved, historical differences in ecology of the two species.     

Digenea parasites of jellyfish and ctenophores of the southern Atlantic

Parasites of planktonic cnidarians and ctenophores in the southern Atlantic Ocean are little known. The aim of this study was to describe three new metacercariae from jellyfish and ctenophores, and assess the importance of the gelatinous zooplankton as intermediate hosts in the life history of digeneans. During examination of zooplankton in Argentine Sea for digeneans that mature in fishes, two species of jellyfish (Phialidium sp. and Liriope tetraphylla Chamiso & Eysenhardt, 1821), and one ctenophore (Mnemiopsis mccradyi Mayer, 1900) were analyzed for parasites. The samples were obtained in Mar del Plata. Three metacercariae belonging to Faustulidae, Lepocreadiidae and Hemiuridae are described. The prevalence (percent of hosts infected) varied from 1.4–30% and the range of intensity (number of individuals of a parasite species in a single infected host) was from 1 to 30 for the different metacercariae. Given the important position of free-swimming cnidarians and ctenophores in the marine food web, and the great number of fishes that have been found with these organisms in their digestive tracts, their importance in the life histories of digeneans should not be underrated.     

The relations between larval fishes and zooplankton in two inshore areas of the Gulf of Maine

Larval fishes and zooplankton were sampled in two hydrographicallydifferent areas on the coast of the Gulf of Maine: SullivanHarbor, an embayment in eastern Maine, and the DamariscottaRiver estuary in western Maine. Sampling was conducted at weeklyintervals from late winter to early summer in each area in 1979and 1980. Phytoplankton chlorophyll concentrations were determinedin each area in 1979. The time of peak catch rates of the dominantlarval fish species occurred one to three weeks earlier in thewestern sample area, the Damariscotta estuary, than in SullivanHarbor in the east. The phytoplankton and zooplankton bloomsalso occurred one to three weeks earlier in the Damariscottaestuary than in Sullivan Harbor. These timing trends are believedto result from the differences in the seasonal hydrographicchanges of the inshore and coastal source waters. Analyses ofthe feeding, length-frequencies, and condition factors of thedominant larval fish species, Pholis gunnellus, are used torelate the apparent survival of the larvae to the timing ofappearance of their forage organisms, the dynamics of whichare determined by the local hydrography and resultant phytoplanktondynamics.     

Consumption of zooplanktonic organisms by Astyanax fasciatus Cuvier, 1819 (Osteichthyes,Characidae) in Lobo (Broa) reservoir,São Carlos,SP, Brazil

The consumption of zooplanktonic organisms by young and adult fish of Astyanax fasciatus in Lobo Reservoir was studied from October 1978 to September 1979 by analysing the abundance of zooplankton in the gut of fishes and relating it to the variation of the zooplankton community in the lake. To analyse the diet the following methods were used: numeric frequency of occurrence, and frequency rate. Astyanax fasciatus showed a large spectrum of feeding. The young stage feeds mainly on zooplankton and macroinvertebrates (insect larvae) but the adults also consume algae and detritus. Even in relation to the zooplankton the young stage showed a food preference different from that of the adults, selecting copepods over cladocerans, while the adults consumed more cladocerans.     

香溪河鱼类群落组成及资源评价

采用定置刺网的捕捞方法,于2005年3—4月在香溪河官庄坪库湾连续捕捞20次,共调查到21种鱼类。对采集的渔获物数据,分析了多样性和种群优势度。确定上层、中上层、中下层和底层的优势类群分别是贝氏、蒙古、翘嘴、鲫、鲤、蛇、鲇。三峡水库蓄水对官庄坪鱼类群落构成影响显著:鲤科鱼类种类组成比例占总种数76.2%,其中亚科有7种,占鲤科总数的43.8%。静水性生活的鱼类所占比重较大,已经形成优势种群。经济鱼类在生物量上占有举足轻重地位,上层肉食性鱼类以蒙古、翘嘴为主。鳅科鱼类基本绝迹。     

Fish trophic level and the similarity of non-specific larval parasite assemblages

Whereas the effect of parasites on food webs is increasingly recognised and has been extensively measured and modelled, the effect of food webs on the structure of parasite assemblages has not been quantified in a similar way. Here, we apply the concept of decay in community similarity with increasing distance, previously used for parasites in geographical, phylogenetic and ontogenetic contexts, to differences in the trophic level (TL) based on diet composition of fishes. It is proposed as an accurate quantitative method to measure rates of assemblage change as a function of host feeding habits and is applied, to our knowledge for the first time, across host species in marine waters. We focused on a suite of 15 species of trophically-transmitted and non-specific larval helminths across 16 fish species (1783 specimens, six orders, 14 families) with different sizes and TLs, gathered from the same ecosystem. Not all host species harboured the same number and types of parasites, reflecting the differences in their ecological characteristics. Using differences in TL and body length as measurements of size and trophic distances, we found that similarity at both infracommunity and component community levels showed a very clear decay pattern, based on parasite abundance and relative abundance, with increasing distance in TL, but was not related to changes in fish size, with TL thus emerging as the main explanatory factor for similarity of parasite assemblages. Furthermore, the relationships between host TL and assemblage similarity allowed identification of fishes for which the TL was under- or over-estimated and prediction of the TL of host species based on parasite data alone.