scholarly journals A Few Good Reasons Why Species-Area Relationships Do Not Work for Parasites

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Strona ◽  
Simone Fattorini
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Enemy Release ◽  
Parasite Species Richness ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Species Area ◽  
Host Parasite ◽  
Host Body Size

Several studies failed to find strong relationships between the biological and ecological features of a host and the number of parasite species it harbours. In particular, host body size and geographical range are generally only weak predictors of parasite species richness, especially when host phylogeny and sampling effort are taken into account. These results, however, have been recently challenged by a meta-analytic study that suggested a prominent role of host body size and range extent in determining parasite species richness (species-area relationships). Here we argue that, in general, results from meta-analyses should not discourage researchers from investigating the reasons for the lack of clear patterns, thus proposing a few tentative explanations to the fact that species-area relationships are infrequent or at least difficult to be detected in most host-parasite systems. The peculiar structure of host-parasite networks, the enemy release hypothesis, the possible discrepancy between host and parasite ranges, and the evolutionary tendency of parasites towards specialization may explain why the observed patterns often do not fit those predicted by species-area relationships.

Can host body size explain the parasite species richness in tropical freshwater fishes?

Oecologia ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Guégan ◽  
Alain Lambert ◽  
Christian Lévêque ◽  
Claude Combes ◽  
Louis Euzet
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Freshwater Fishes ◽  
Parasite Species Richness ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Size ◽  
Tropical Freshwater

Metazoan parasite species richness in Neotropical fishes: hotspots and the geography of biodiversity

Parasitology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 134 (6) ◽  
pp. 865-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. LUQUE ◽  
R. POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Freshwater Fishes ◽  
Parasite Diversity ◽  
Parasite Species Richness ◽  
Metazoan Parasite ◽  
Host Body ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Host Associations

SUMMARYAlthough research on parasite biodiversity has intensified recently, there are signs that parasites remain an underestimated component of total biodiversity in many regions of the planet. To identify geographical hotspots of parasite diversity, we performed qualitative and quantitative analyses of the parasite-host associations in fishes from Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that includes known hotspots of plant and animal biodiversity. The database included 10 904 metazoan parasite-host associations involving 1660 fish species. The number of host species with at least 1 parasite record was less than 10% of the total known fish species in the majority of countries. Associations involving adult endoparasites in actinopterygian fish hosts dominated the database. Across the whole region, no significant difference in parasite species richness was detected between marine and freshwater fishes. As a rule, host body size and study effort (number of studies per fish species) were good predictors of parasite species richness. Some interesting patterns emerged when we included only the regions with highest fish species biodiversity and study effort (Brasil, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands). Independently of differences in study effort or host body sizes, Mexico stands out as a hotspot of parasite diversity for freshwater fishes, as does Brasil for marine fishes. However, among 57 marine fish species common to all 3 regions, populations from the Caribbean consistently harboured more parasite species. These differences may reflect true biological patterns, or regional discrepancies in study effort and local priorities for fish parasitology research.

scholarly journals Parasite biodiversity and its determinants in coastal marine teleost fishes of Brazil

Parasitology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 128 (6) ◽  
pp. 671-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. LUQUE ◽  
D. MOUILLOT ◽  
R. POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Taxonomic Distinctness ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Metazoan Parasites ◽  
Parasite Species Richness ◽  
Parasite Biodiversity ◽  
Parasite Assemblages

Recent studies of the forces behind the diversification of parasite assemblages have shed light on many aspects of parasite biodiversity. By using only parasite species richness as their measure of diversity, however, previous investigations have ignored the relatedness among parasite species and the taxonomic structure of the assemblages, which contain much information about their evolutionary origins. Here, we performed a comparative analysis across 50 species of fish from the coast of Brazil; we evaluated the effects of several host traits (body size, social behaviour, feeding habits, preference for benthicvs. pelagic habitats, depth range, and ability to enter brackish waters) on the diversity of their assemblages of metazoan parasites. As measures of diversity, we used parasite species richness, as well as the average taxonomic distinctness of the assemblage and its variance; the latter measures are based on the average taxonomic distance between any two parasite species in an assemblage. Unlike parasite species richness, taxonomic distinctness was unaffected by the number of host individuals examined per species. Fish body length proved to be the main predictor of parasite species richness, even when controlling for the confounding influences of host phylogeny and sampling effort, although it did not correlate with measures of parasite taxonomic distinctness. Predatory fish also had higher parasite species richness than planktivores, but this trend could not be confirmed using phylogenetically independent contrasts between host taxa. The main host feature associated with the taxonomic diversity of parasites was schooling behaviour, with schooling fish having more taxonomically diverse parasite assemblages than those of their non-schooling relatives. When focusing on endoparasite species only, both predatory feeding habits and a broad depth range were associated with the taxonomic distinctness of parasites. Our results suggest that certain host traits (i.e. body size) determine how many parasite species a host can accumulate over evolutionary time, whereas different host features influence the processes causing the taxonomic diversification of parasite assemblages.

The role of ecological opportunity in shaping host–parasite networks

Parasitology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (13) ◽  
pp. 1452-1460
Author(s):  
Elvira D'Bastiani ◽  
Karla M. Campião ◽  
Walter A. Boeger ◽  
Sabrina B. L. Araújo
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Interaction Networks ◽  
Ecological Opportunity ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Seasonally Flooded ◽  
Brazilian Pantanal ◽  
Host Parasite ◽  
Host Body Size

AbstractDespite the great interest to quantify the structure of host–parasite interaction networks, the real influence of some factors such as taxonomy, host body size and ecological opportunity remains poorly understood. In this paper, we investigate the general patterns of organization and structure of interactions in two anuran–parasite networks in the Brazilian Pantanal (seasonally flooded environment) and Atlantic Forest (non-flooded forest). We present theoretical models to test whether the structures of these host–parasite interaction networks are influenced by neutrality, host taxonomy and host body size. Subsequently, we calculated metrics of connectance, nestedness and modularity to characterize the network structure. We demonstrated the structure networks were influenced mainly by body size and taxonomy of the host. Moreover, our results showed that the seasonally flooded environment present networks with higher connectance/nestedness and lower modularity compared to the other environment. The results also suggest that seasonal floods may promote ecological opportunities for new species associations.

scholarly journals Mesoscale spatiotemporal variability in a complex host-parasite system influenced by intermediate host body size

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara M. Rodríguez ◽  
Nelson Valdivia
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Parasite Burden ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Parasite Interactions ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
Host Parasite ◽  
Parasite Exposure ◽  
Host Body Size

Background Parasites are essential components of natural communities, but the factors that generate skewed distributions of parasite occurrences and abundances across host populations are not well understood. Methods Here, we analyse at a seascape scale the spatiotemporal relationships of parasite exposure and host body-size with the proportion of infected hosts (i.e., prevalence) and aggregation of parasite burden across ca. 150 km of the coast and over 22 months. We predicted that the effects of parasite exposure on prevalence and aggregation are dependent on host body-sizes. We used an indirect host-parasite interaction in which migratory seagulls, sandy-shore molecrabs, and an acanthocephalan worm constitute the definitive hosts, intermediate hosts, and endoparasite, respectively. In such complex systems, increments in the abundance of definitive hosts imply increments in intermediate hosts’ exposure to the parasite’s dispersive stages. Results Linear mixed-effects models showed a significant, albeit highly variable, positive relationship between seagull density and prevalence. This relationship was stronger for small (cephalothorax length >15 mm) than large molecrabs (<15 mm). Independently of seagull density, large molecrabs carried significantly more parasites than small molecrabs. The analysis of the variance-to-mean ratio of per capita parasite burden showed no relationship between seagull density and mean parasite aggregation across host populations. However, the amount of unexplained variability in aggregation was strikingly higher in larger than smaller intermediate hosts. This unexplained variability was driven by a decrease in the mean-variance scaling in heavily infected large molecrabs. Conclusions These results show complex interdependencies between extrinsic and intrinsic population attributes on the structure of host-parasite interactions. We suggest that parasite accumulation—a characteristic of indirect host-parasite interactions—and subsequent increasing mortality rates over ontogeny underpin size-dependent host-parasite dynamics.

Helminth communities in the burrowing toad, Rhinella fernandezae, from Northeastern Argentina

Biologia ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Hamann ◽  
Arturo Kehr ◽  
Cynthya González
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Helminth Species ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Helminth Parasites ◽  
Importance Value ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Size

AbstractThe main goals of this study were to determine the richness and diversity of helminth parasites of Rhinella fernandezae at the component and infracommunity levels and determine the ecological implications of different biotic and abiotic factors. Specimens were collected near the city of Corrientes, Corrientes Province, Argentina. Prevalence of infection was 94% in the specimens examined (n = 65). The helminth component community in R. fernandezae in this area was comprised a total of 22 species. Of all helminth species, only three (Catadiscus inopinatus, Cosmocerca podicipinus and C. parva) were dominant (importance value: I > 1.0) in the community. The most abundant species were B. tetracotyloides (d = 0.43) among the larvae and C. podicipinus (d = 0.09) among adult worms. At the infracommunity level, the mean individual species richness (2.28 ± 1.48) (mean ± SD) was no more than 3 helminth species per infected host; the diversity and equitability of helminths were 0.23 ± 0.21 and 0.48 ± 0.38, respectively. The host body size was the main factor in determining the parasite abundance. Species richness was significantly and positively correlated with host body size. The parasite helminth species predominantly showed an overdispersed pattern of distribution. Helminth species showed two negative and significant pairs of covariation and one significant pair of association (P < 0.05). R. fernandezae has a wide variety of parasites relating to the host microhabitat, mobility and feeding habits.

Parasite species richness in carnivores: effects of host body mass, latitude, geographical range and population density

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 496-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik Lindenfors ◽  
Charles L. Nunn ◽  
Kate E. Jones ◽  
Andrew A. Cunningham ◽  
Wes Sechrest ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Geographical Range ◽  
Parasite Species Richness ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Host Body Mass
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