Parasites and Symbionts of Native and Cultured Shrimps from Yucatán, Mexico

The prevalence of parasites and symbionts in various penaeid shrimps, including the native wild Farfantepenaeus aztecus (brown shrimp), F. duorarum (pink shrimp), and F. brasiliensis (pinkspotted shrimp) and the nonnative cultured Litopenaeus vannamei (Pacific white shrimp), along with those in the native wild Palaemonetes pugio (daggerblade grass shrimp), are reported. The native wild shrimp were collected from five sites on the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, namely, Celestun, Sisal, Chuburna, Dzilam, and Rio Lagartos. The most prevalent parasites and symbionts were the ciliates Apiosoma sp. (prevalence, 6–57%), Epistylis sp. (2–29%), and Zoothamnium penaei (2–65%), which were found in at least four of the five sites. Cultured shrimp from a shrimp farm at Sisal were found to be infected by Apiosoma sp. (6%), Epistylis sp. (2%), and the microsporidian Agmasoma penaei (also known as Thelohania penaei; 2%), presumably acquired from wild shrimp. Larvae of the cestode Prochristianella penaei had a prevalence ranging from 35% at Rio Lagartos to 100% at Celestun and Dzilam. The mean (±SD) abundance of P. penaei was between 2 ± 2 per shrimp for Rio Lagartos and 15 ± 17 for Chuburna. This parasite was recovered in shrimp from four sites. Histological examination of F. duorarum from Celestun revealed that P. penaei larvae (prevalence, 82%) were producing fibrosis in the hepatopancreas. The presence of the epibionts Z. penaei (64%) and Epistylis sp. (100%) did not produce histological damage in cultured L. vannamei from Sisal, nor did Lagenophrys eupagurus in P. pugio (100%) from Sisal. Seasonal sampling of shrimp for parasites and symbionts would help to clarify the possible pathological consequences of infection.