Influence of host diet and phylogeny on parasite sharing by fish in a diverse tropical floodplain

The patterns of parasite sharing among hosts have important implications for ecosystem structure and functioning, and are influenced by several ecological and evolutionary factors associated with both hosts and parasites. Here we evaluated the influence of fish diet and phylogenetic relatedness on t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology 2016-03, Vol.143 (3), p.343-349
Main Authors: LIMA, L. B., BELLAY, S., GIACOMINI, H. C., ISAAC, A., LIMA-JUNIOR, D. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Aquatic ecosystems
Biological evolution
Brazil
Diet
Ecological effects
Ecological monitoring
Ecosystem
Ecosystem structure
Ectoparasites
Endoparasites
Fish
Fish diets
Fish Diseases - parasitology
Fish parasites
Fishes - classification
Fishes - parasitology
Floodplains
Food
Fresh Water
Freshwater
Freshwater ecology
Freshwater ecosystems
Gills
Host-Parasite Interactions
Infections
Influence
Ingestion
Life history
Native species
Nose
Parasites
Parasites - physiology
Parasitic Diseases, Animal - parasitology
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Rivers
Species
Tropical Climate
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Summary:The patterns of parasite sharing among hosts have important implications for ecosystem structure and functioning, and are influenced by several ecological and evolutionary factors associated with both hosts and parasites. Here we evaluated the influence of fish diet and phylogenetic relatedness on the pattern of infection by parasites with contrasting life history strategies in a freshwater ecosystem of key ecological importance in South America. The studied network of interactions included 52 fish species, which consumed 58 food types and were infected with 303 parasite taxa. Our results show that both diet and evolutionary history of hosts significantly explained parasite sharing; phylogenetically close fish species and/or species sharing food types tend to share more parasites. However, the effect of diet was observed only for endoparasites in contrast to ectoparasites. These results are consistent with the different life history strategies and selective pressures imposed on these groups: endoparasites are in general acquired via ingestion by their intermediate hosts, whereas ectoparasites actively seek and attach to the gills, body surface or nostrils of its sole host, thus not depending directly on its feeding habits.
ISSN:0031-1820
1469-8161
1469-8161
DOI:10.1017/S003118201500164X