Roberto Vallarta-Zárate

Roberto Vallarta-Zárate

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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1 July 2023 in Parasitologia
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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FMFrancisco Neptalí Morales-Serna
Francisco Neptalí Morales-Serna
DLDania López
Dania López
JOJuan M. Osuna-Cabanillas
Juan M. Osuna-Cabanillas
SGSaúl García-Labrador
Saúl García-Labrador
RVRoberto Vallarta-Zárate
Roberto Vallarta-Zárate
Felipe AmezcuaFelipe Amezcua
Felipe Amezcua
Thread herrings (Opisthonema spp.) are economically important fish species in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Knowledge of the parasitofauna of commercially exploited species is useful as it can increase our understanding of fish biology and ecology. However, our knowledge of the parasites of Opisthonema spp. is limited. During a fisheries exploration survey in April 2022, samples of Opisthonema bulleri and O. libertate were collected from three oceanographic stations in the Gulf of Tehuantepec in the Mexican Pacific. Parasitological analysis of these materials uncovered four parasite species: Myosaccium ecaude (Trematoda), Cribromazocraes sp. (Monogenea), Pseudoterranova sp. (Nematoda), and an unidentified crustacean of the family Pennellidae (Copepoda). All these species appeared rarely, except for M. ecaude, which reached a prevalence of 100%. The median intensity of M. ecaude infection was significantly higher in O. bulleri than in O. libertate. We analyzed the relationship between parasitic infection intensity and three host traits (fork length, body weight, and age). Only body weight showed a significant positive association with intensity. Future studies are required to analyze the possible effects of seasonality, locality, and host ontogeny on the occurrence of M. ecaude in thread herrings in the Tropical Eastern Pacific.