Parasitic castration, growth, and sex steroids in the freshwater bonefish Cyphocharax gilbert (Curimatidae) infested by Riggia paranensis (Cymothoidea)

Cyphocharax gilbert shows parasitic castration when infested by the crustacean Riggia paranensis, being unable to reproduce. Fish were sampled in the middle rio Itabapoana, Brazil, to study the prevalence of parasitism, growth, and sex steroid concentrations, considering the body size, sex, and reproductive condition of specimens. Most of the fish analyzed were infested (56.0%). The presence of two lines on the scales was more frequent among infested fish (22.0%) than among fish without parasites (12.0% for females and 10.0% for males). The occurrence of three lines on the scales was rare (3.5% among infested and 2.0% among females without parasites). These results suggest that growth of the host is faster than that of non infested fish. The serum concentrations of sex steroids from fish without parasites varied at different gonadal development stages (17 beta-estradiol: 60.0 to 976.7 pg/ml; total testosterone: 220.0 to 3,887.7 pg/ml). All infested fish had lower levels of the two sex steroids and undeveloped gonads. Sex steroids levels in infested females were close to those in females at post-spawning stages. Total testosterone concentrations of infested males were below those of males at early gonadal maturation stage. These results suggest that R. paranensis reduces the reproductive capacity of C. gilbert by affecting the host endocrine system.