Hernández-Roa, Jonatan J.

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Estacionalidad en la infección de Enterobryus halophilus (Opisthokonta: Mesomycetozoa) en el intestino de Emerita portoricensis (Decapoda: Hippidae)
(2009-07) Hernández-Roa, Jonatan J.; Cafaro, Matías J.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Santos Flores, Carlos; Montalvo Rodríguez, Rafael; Department of Biology
In Puerto Rico, the protist Enterobryus halophilus (Mesomycetozoa) has been reported associated with a new host, Emerita portoricensis (Crustacea: Decapoda). A study on prevalence and abundance in populations of E. halophilus was conducted during 18 months to determine if a sex-dependent infection exists in Emerita portoricensis as suggested by Cronin and Johnson (1958) for Emerita talpoida. Individuals (1440) of Emerita portoricensis were collected, dissected and slides were mounted with the guts of the host to study the symbiont. The thalli of E. halophilus were counted under a microscope using grid squares, which were randomly selected without repetition. A factorial analysis of variance with interaction statistically revealed that the presence and the abundance of Enterobryus halophilus does not depend on the sex of its host. Furthermore, the data indicate that E. halophilus population dynamics present seasonal variations in their infection levels following the population dynamics of the host.