Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Hughes, Colin

Abstract

The effect of parasitism on the individual, and on a population, is one of the least understood and poorly studied areas of fish ecology. Parasites compete for maternal energetic reserves required for the production of viable eggs and offspring; thus parasites can directly influence population dynamics by lowering the number of offspring that survive to produce. The goal of this work was to explore the effect of parasitism on the reproductive potential of fish. Traditional measures of somatic energy reserves and body condition were examined along with newer measures of fatty acids present in eggs to approximate reproductive potential. Eighty female common snook, Centropomus undecimalis, were collected during spawning season (mid April to mid October) from four spawning aggregations along the southeastern coast of Florida and examined for a suite of biological, reproductive, and parasite infection measures. General linear models were used to model somatic indices, body condition, fatty acid composition and the ratios of fatty acids in eggs as a function of parasite infection parameters, host age, capture location, capture month and year. All fish were included in the somatic indices and body condition analysis while a subset of 40 fish were used in the analysis on fatty acid composition and the ratios of fatty acids in eggs.

Extent

134 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00004424

Format

pdf

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