Taxonomic approaches to and interpretation of host specificity of trematodes of fishes: lessons from the Great Barrier Reef

The taxonomy of trematodes of Great Barrier Reef (GBR) fishes has been studied in some detail for over 20 years. Understanding of the fauna has been informed iteratively by approaches to sampling, understanding of morphology, the advent of molecular methodology and a feed-back loop from the emergent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology 2011-11, Vol.138 (13), p.1710-1722
Main Authors: MILLER, T. L., BRAY, R. A., CRIBB, T. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accretion
Animals
Bank acquisitions & mergers
Cryptic species
Fish barriers
Fish Diseases - parasitology
Fishes - parasitology
Host Specificity
Host-Parasite Interactions
Marine
Parasites
Pisces
Queensland
Seawater
Species Specificity
Taxonomy
Trematoda - classification
Trematoda - genetics
Trematoda - pathogenicity
Trematode Infections - parasitology
Trematode Infections - veterinary
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Summary:The taxonomy of trematodes of Great Barrier Reef (GBR) fishes has been studied in some detail for over 20 years. Understanding of the fauna has been informed iteratively by approaches to sampling, understanding of morphology, the advent of molecular methodology and a feed-back loop from the emergent understanding of host specificity. Here we analyse 658 host-parasite combinations for 290 trematode species, 152 genera and 28 families from GBR fishes. These are reported from 8 orders, 38 families, 117 genera and 243 species of fishes. Of the 290 species, only 4 (1·4%) have been reported from more than one order of fishes and just 23 (7·9%) infect more than one family; 77·9% of species are known from only one genus, and 60% from only one species of fish. Molecular studies have revealed several complexes of cryptic species and others are suspected; we conclude that no euryxenous host distribution should be accepted on the basis of morphology only. The occurrence of individual trematode species in potential hosts is patchy and difficult to predict reliably a priori or explain convincingly a posteriori. These observations point to the need for a vigorous iterative interaction between the accretion of host specificity data and its interpretation.
ISSN:0031-1820
1469-8161
DOI:10.1017/S0031182011000576