Distribution and prevalence of 15 species of epibiont peritrich ciliates on the crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis Villalobos, 1943 in Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to know the distribution and prevalence of ciliated Protozoa attached to the exoskeleton and gills of the crayfish, Cambarellus patzcuarensis. Samples of crayfish were taken at two sites in Patzcuaro Lake, Michoacan, Mexico. Fifteen species of ciliated Protozoa (peritrichs) were found attached as epibionts on the crayfish. Their distribution and prevalence on 14 body parts of the basibiont is presented. Community structures were analysed using Jaccard's index and principal component analysis. The results showed that the gills had no similarity with respect to the other body parts as regards peritrich attachment. The pereiopods and the uropods were the body parts with the highest species richness, the gills had the lowest. Cothurnia variabilis is the only species with a high degree of specificity to the body region to which it is attached (gills). Of the 15 species found, only one has been reported exclusively as an epibiont on crustaceans.