Diet and Parasites of Mesopelagic Fishes in the Gulf of Mexico

Synopsis of Work

Trophic ecology studies in the mesopelagic zone generally center around diet composition or stable isotopes. However, internal parasites can provide insight into the trophic structure of an ecosystem, such as the specificity of predator diets, and foodweb topology. I compared the diet and parasite communities of 26 mesopelagic fish species from the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike other ecosystems, the parasite community of the deep-pelagic zone was very scarce, and only 1 in every 10 fishes contained a single parasite. However, I was still able to gather evidence that predators of fishes and squids were more likely to be infected by a parasite than predators of small zooplankton, and the parasite community of a fish species was influenced by the diet of that species, suggesting some degree of specificity among mesopelagic fish diets.

Publications

  • Woodstock, M.S., C.A. Blanar, T.T. Sutton. (2020). Diet and parasites of a mesopelagic fish assemblage in the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Biology. 167:184. Link to paper

Many parasites in aquatic food webs use different hosts and are transferred as the current host is ingested by a larger organism. Fishes of deep-sea fishes are by by Danté Fenolio|DEEPEND

Presentations

  • Woodstock, M.S., C.A. Blanar, T.T. Sutton. (2018). Trophic ecology and parasitism of a mesopelagic fish assemblage. Nova Southeastern University Biosymposium. Dania Beach, FL.

  • Woodstock, M.S., C.A. Blanar, T.T. Sutton. (2018). On parasitism in mesopelagic fishes as a function of trophic ecology and vertical distribution. Deep Sea Biological Society Meeting. Monterey Bay, CA. Poster

  • Woodstock, M.S., T.T. Sutton, C.A. Blanar. (2018). Trophic ecology and parasitism of a deep-pelagic fish assemblage. American Society of Parasitologists Annual Meeting. Cancun, Mexico. Poster

  • Woodstock, M.S., C.A. Blanar, T.T. Sutton. (2017). An examination of the parasites and trophic ecology of mesopelagic fishes. American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting. Tampa, FL.

  • Woodstock, M.S., C.A. Blanar, T.T. Sutton (2017). An examination of the parasites and trophic ecology of mesopelagic fishes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Annual Meeting. Austin, TX.

  • Woodstock, M.S., C.A. Blanar, T.T. Sutton. (2017). Variations in the parasite fauna and gut contents of vertically migrating and non-migrating mesopelagic fishes of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference. New Orleans, LA. Poster

Collaborators

Blanar Parasitology Lab, Nova Southeastern University
Deep-Pelagic Nekton Dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico