Abstract
Parasite communities and interactions with their hosts can provide insight into how host species live. Host life history, species, habitat, size, age, and population health can have effects on parasite communities. Elasmobranch species and associated parasites remain understudied and the parasitic sharks and rays host and how that relates to species ecology is mostly unknown. This is especially true for elasmobranch ectoparasites (e.g., isopods, copepods, leeches, and flatworms). Understanding the interactions between parasites and their hosts can be important for the conservation of the hosts as well as the conservation of the parasites. This study described the community makeup of elasmobranch ectoparasites off the coast of Miami, Florida and explored how different host variables like size, species, habitat, age and life history affect the species of hosted parasites. This study also described how parasite communities changed over the two and a half years of study. Thirteen species of elasmobranch were observed in this studywith 1,077 individuals caught and 493 (45.8%) were infected with ectoparasites. This study found that larger offshore species of sharks had a higher prevalence and abundance of parasites than smaller inshore species of shark. These differences were mostly driven by copepod infections. Maturity of the elasmobranch did not have a significant correlation to parasite abundance. It also found that as sharks get larger their parasite loads tend to increase. Parasites also increased in abundance over time on several species of shark. These findings can be used to guide future conservation efforts in the waters around Miami, Florida as well as be used to conduct further research of the relationships between ectoparasites and elasmobranch hosts.