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Junker K, Horak IG, Boomker J, Krasnov BR. Nestedness and beta diversity of gastrointestinal helminth communities in common warthogs, Phacochoerus africanus (Suidae), at 2 localities in South Africa. Parasitology 2023; 150:911-921. [PMID: 37553973 PMCID: PMC10577656 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182023000719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Few studies have investigated the ecological interactions between wild species of Suidae and their parasites, leaving our knowledge concerning this host–parasite system fragmented. In the present study, we applied network studies to analyse community nestedness in helminth assemblages of common warthogs, Phacochoerus africanus (Gmelin) (Suidae). Helminth data were compiled from 95 warthogs, including young and adult males and females, from 2 different conservation areas in Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa, collected monthly over a period of 1 year each. The aim was to study the effect of host sex, age and season of sampling on the structure of helminth infracommunities harboured by the warthogs and to search for non-random structural patterns in the warthog–helminth interaction networks. Furthermore, we investigated the influence of a warthog's age, sex and season of sampling on beta diversity and dark diversity of their helminth infracommunities. Lastly, we asked whether the effects of host sex, age and sampling season on helminth communities differed between the 2 localities. We found that helminth communities of warthogs were nested and host–parasite interactions were influenced by all 3 factors as well as combinations thereof. However, the resulting patterns differed at the 2 localities, indicating that local environmental processes are important drivers of community structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Junker
- National Collection of Animal Helminths, Epidemiology, Parasites and Vectors Programme, ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Private Bag X05, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Ivan G. Horak
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Joop Boomker
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Boris R. Krasnov
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 8499000 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
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Plaksina MP, Dmitrieva EV, Dvoretsky AG. Helminth Communities of Common Fish Species in the Coastal Zone off Crimea: Species Composition, Diversity, and Structure. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12030478. [PMID: 36979169 PMCID: PMC10045640 DOI: 10.3390/biology12030478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we analyzed the diversity and structure of helminth communities of 12 common fish species from the coastal zone of Crimea. A total of 53 helminth species were found. The total number of parasite species per host fish ranged from 3 to 18. Species richness at the infracommunity and component community levels were from 1.4-4.2 to 1.7-7, respectively. The Brillouin index for the infracommunites was 0.1-1, while the Shannon index for the component communities was 0.3-1.2. Component communities demonstrated a bi- or tri-modal distribution of the parasite prevalence and positive correlations between the prevalence and log-transformed abundance indices, thus following the "core-satellite" conception. Overall, the prevalence and abundance index of the dominant parasite in the component communities ranged from 18 to 80% and from 0.6 to 61.5 ind. per fish, respectively. The structure of the helminth component communities demonstrated good accordance with the nestedness mode where the rarest species occurred in the most diverse infracommunities, while the poorest infracommunities were composed of a few dominating species. More than two-thirds of the studied helminth species had an aggregated distribution indicating well-structured and developed communities. Our data provide a basis for further research and may be used for fish resource monitoring and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana P Plaksina
- Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 183010 Murmansk, Russia
| | - Evgenija V Dmitrieva
- A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexander G Dvoretsky
- Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 183010 Murmansk, Russia
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Junker K, Boomker J, Horak IG, Krasnov BR. Impact of host sex and age on the diversity of endoparasites and structure of individual-based host-parasite networks in nyalas (Tragelaphus angasii Angas) from three game reserves in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Parasitol Res 2022; 121:3249-3267. [PMID: 36071296 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-022-07653-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, numerous studies have examined the effect of host sex and age on the structure of parasite communities in several host taxa under various environmental conditions and in different geographic regions. However, the influence of such factors on the structure of host-parasite networks has received less attention, and remarkably few studies have been carried out on large terrestrial mammals. In this study, we investigated the effects of host age and sex on the parasite infra- and component communities of nyalas (Tragelaphus angasii) and on the structure of individual-based nyala-endoparasite networks. We also aimed to evaluate to what extent these effects vary spatially and if they are mediated by conservation management. Based on a data set of internal macroparasites of 74 nyalas from three game reserves in KwaZulu-Natal province, we found that host age strongly influenced parasite community structure as well as the structure of parasite-nyala networks, whereas host sex played a minor role. However, the effects of both host sex and age were mediated by environmental conditions and thus led to different patterns at the three localities. Our findings highlight that host-parasite communities from different localities should not be pooled when conducting host-parasite network and community studies as this may bias results and mask patterns that are typical for a given locality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Junker
- National Collection of Animal Helminths, Epidemiology, Parasites and Vectors Programme, ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Private Bag X05, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
| | - Joop Boomker
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa
| | - Ivan G Horak
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa
| | - Boris R Krasnov
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 8499000, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
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4
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Logging effects on parasitic infections in a swamp rat (Malacomys edwardsi) in West Africa. J Mammal 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyab159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Habitat disturbance can have negative impacts on biodiversity, such as reducing species richness. The effects of habitat disturbances on parasite infections of host species, potentially altering their survival rate and thus abundance, are less well known. We examined the influence of forest logging in combination with seasonality, host abundance, host body condition, and host sex, on the community composition of gastrointestinal parasites infecting Edward’s swamp rat, Malacomys edwardsi. Community composition of parasites did not differ between logged and undisturbed sites, but the abundance of some nematodes (i.e., Ascaris and hookworm) was higher in undisturbed than logged sites. The higher abundance of these nematode species implies a changed host-parasite relationship, thus potentially influencing host persistence.
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Miambo R, Afonso S, Noormahomed E, Pondja A, Mukaratirwa S. Echinococcosis in humans and animals in Southern Africa Development Community countries: A systematic review. Food Waterborne Parasitol 2020; 20:e00087. [PMID: 32995581 PMCID: PMC7501418 DOI: 10.1016/j.fawpar.2020.e00087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The taeniid Echinococcus is the causative agent of the zoonotic disease echinococcosis/hydatidosis and is associated with economic losses in livestock production. This review summarizes available scientific literature on circulating species of Echinococcus in humans, wild and domestic animals in countries of Southern Africa Development Community, and identifies knowledge gaps and recommend research priorities. Data were systematically accessed from Google Scholar, MEDLINE/PubMed and from library resources from December 2017 to June 2019. Meta-analysis was conducted in STATA program and heterogeneity and prevalence values were pooled by host species with 95% confidence interval. In intermediate hosts, the overall prevalence of Echinococcus by meat inspection was 10% (CI: 9-11%) in small ruminants, 7% (CI: 5-8%) in cattle, 1% (CI: 0-1%) in pigs and 9% (CI: 0-29%) in wild herbivores. In canids by CoproAg-ELISA and necropsy the prevalence was of 10% (CI: 8-10%) and 6% (CI: 3-10%) respectively. A high level of heterogeneity (I2 > 65%) was observed for all study groups. Echinococcus equinus, E. canadensis, E ortleppi and E. felidis were reported from wildlife and E. ortleppi, E. granulosus s. s. and E. canadensis from humans. There is paucity of research in echinococcosis and gaps in prevalence reports over time in both humans and animals in the SADC region and we recommend an increase in future studies on the epidemiology of disease, risk factors for transmission in animals and humans and its relation with human health specially in the advent of HIV pandemic following a "One Health" approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- R.D. Miambo
- Faculty of Veterinary, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
- School of Life Science, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban 4001, South Africa
| | - S.M.S Afonso
- Faculty of Veterinary, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
| | - E.V. Noormahomed
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
- Mozambique Institute for Health Education and Research (MIHER), Maputo, Mozambique
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease Division, University of California, San Diego, USA
| | - A. Pondja
- Faculty of Veterinary, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
| | - S. Mukaratirwa
- School of Life Science, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban 4001, South Africa
- One Health Center for Zoonoses and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
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Spickett A, Junker K, Krasnov BR, Haukisalmi V, Matthee S. Community structure of helminth parasites in two closely related South African rodents differing in sociality and spatial behaviour. Parasitol Res 2017; 116:2299-2312. [DOI: 10.1007/s00436-017-5538-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2017] [Accepted: 06/16/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Junker K, Horak IG, Penzhorn B. History and development of research on wildlife parasites in southern Africa, with emphasis on terrestrial mammals, especially ungulates. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2015; 4:50-70. [PMID: 25830101 PMCID: PMC4356741 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2014.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2014] [Revised: 12/09/2014] [Accepted: 12/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
The history of wildlife parasitology in South Africa, and to some extent southern Africa, is reviewed, giving a brief overview of the early years and following its development from the founding of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute in 1908 until the turn of the century. An emphasis is placed on game species. The main findings on protozoan parasites, including those of carnivores, are presented, starting in the 1890s and leading up to the first decade of the 21st century. Important developments with regard to the studies of arthropod and helminth parasites took place during a period of three decades, starting from the 1970s. Because of the sheer volume of work done by parasitologists during this time, this particular part of the overview concentrates on South African authors or authors working in South Africa at the time, and is limited to hosts that are members of the order Perissodactyla and the superorder Cetartiodactyla.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Junker
- Parasites, Vectors and Vector-borne Diseases, ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, PBag X05, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Ivan G. Horak
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, PBag X04, Onderstpoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Banie Penzhorn
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, PBag X04, Onderstpoort 0110, South Africa
- Research Associate, National Zoological Gardens, Pretoria, South Africa
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Zelmer DA. Size, time, and asynchrony matter: the species-area relationship for parasites of freshwater fishes. J Parasitol 2014; 100:561-8. [PMID: 24820194 DOI: 10.1645/14-534.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The tendency to attribute species-area relationships to "island biogeography" effectively bypasses the examination of specific mechanisms that act to structure parasite communities. Positive covariation between fish size and infrapopulation richness should not be examined within the typical extinction-based paradigm, but rather should be addressed from the standpoint of differences in colonization potential among individual hosts. Although most mechanisms producing the aforementioned pattern constitute some variation of passive sampling, the deterministic aspects of the accumulation of parasite individuals by fish hosts makes untenable the suggestion that infracommunities of freshwater fishes are stochastic assemblages. At the component community level, application of extinction-dependent mechanisms might be appropriate, given sufficient time for colonization, but these structuring forces likely act indirectly through their effects on the host community to increase the probability of parasite persistence. At all levels, the passive sampling hypothesis is a relevant null model. The tendency for mechanisms that produce species-area relationships to produce nested subset patterns means that for most systems, the passive sampling hypothesis can be addressed through the application of appropriate null models of nested subset structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek A Zelmer
- Department of Biology and Geology, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, South Carolina 29801
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A host-endoparasite network of Neotropical marine fish: are there organizational patterns? Parasitology 2011; 138:1945-52. [PMID: 21854678 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182011001314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Properties of ecological networks facilitate the understanding of interaction patterns in host-parasite systems as well as the importance of each species in the interaction structure of a community. The present study evaluates the network structure, functional role of all species and patterns of parasite co-occurrence in a host-parasite network to determine the organization level of a host-parasite system consisting of 170 taxa of gastrointestinal metazoans of 39 marine fish species on the coast of Brazil. The network proved to be nested and modular, with a low degree of connectance. Host-parasite interactions were influenced by host phylogeny. Randomness in parasite co-occurrence was observed in most modules and component communities, although species segregation patterns were also observed. The low degree of connectance in the network may be the cause of properties such as nestedness and modularity, which indicate the presence of a high number of peripheral species. Segregation patterns among parasite species in modules underscore the role of host specificity. Knowledge of ecological networks allows detection of keystone species for the maintenance of biodiversity and the conduction of further studies on the stability of networks in relation to frequent environmental changes.
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Miller TEX, Rudolf VHW. Thinking inside the box: community-level consequences of stage-structured populations. Trends Ecol Evol 2011; 26:457-66. [PMID: 21680049 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2011] [Revised: 05/15/2011] [Accepted: 05/16/2011] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Ecologists have historically represented consumer-resource interactions with boxes and arrows. A key assumption of this conceptualization is that all individuals inside a box are functionally equivalent. Demographic stage structure, however, is a widespread source of heterogeneity inside the boxes. Synthesizing recent studies, we show that stage structure can modify the dynamics of consumer-resource communities owing to stage-related shifts in the nature and strength of interactions that occur within and between populations. As a consequence, stage structure can stabilize consumer-resource dynamics, create possibilities for alternative community states, modify conditions for coexistence of competitors, and alter the strength and direction of trophic cascades. Consideration of stage structure can thus lead to outcomes that are not expected based on unstructured approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom E X Miller
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, MS-170, Houston, TX 77005, USA
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Helminth species diversity of mammals: parasite species richness is a host species attribute. Parasitology 2008; 135:1701-5. [DOI: 10.1017/s0031182008005040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARYStudies investigating parasite diversity have shown substantial geographical variation in parasite species richness. Most of these studies have, however, adopted a local scale approach, which may have masked more general patterns. Recent studies have shown that ectoparasite species richness in mammals seems highly repeatable among populations of the same mammal host species at a regional scale. In light of these new studies we have reinvestigated the case of parasitic helminths by using a large data set of parasites from mammal populations in 3 continents. We collected homogeneous data and demonstrated that helminth species richness is highly repeatable in mammals at a regional scale. Our results highlight the strong influence of host identity in parasite species richness and call for future research linking helminth species found in a given host to its ecology, immune defences and potential energetic trade-offs.
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Sebastián Tello J, Stevens RD, Dick CW. Patterns of species co-occurrence and density compensation: a test for interspecific competition in bat ectoparasite infracommunities. OIKOS 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16212.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Timi JT, Poulin R. Different methods, different results: temporal trends in the study of nested subset patterns in parasite communities. Parasitology 2007; 135:131-8. [PMID: 17825118 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182007003605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARYThe search for nested subset patterns has become a powerful tool for understanding the processes shaping parasite communities. Here, we re-examine the results of past studies on nestedness in parasite communities, to assess how sensitive they are to the analytical method used. Using the metricNand the null model RANDOM1, the first method available to study nested patterns, early studies concluded that nestedness was infrequent in parasite communities. In contrast later studies, using instead the metricTand the nestedness temperature calculator (NTC), found that nested subset patterns were very common in parasite communities. Recently, a new algorithm, the binary matrix nestedness temperature calculator (BINMATNEST), has been proposed to quantify nestedness. Using data on 31 helminth communities of fish hosts, we show that applying the NTC yields consistently more significant nested patterns than whenNand RANDOM1 are used on the same data. The use of BINMATNEST produced results that depend on the choice of the null model. To provide a benchmark, a straightforward comparison between the observed frequencies of co-occurrences of species with those expected from their prevalence under random assembly was also made for each community. This test indicates that random structure occurs in practically all communities, even those where one of the nestedness analyses found a significant pattern. We demonstrate that the probability of finding a nested pattern in a parasite community depends entirely on the metric and null model chosen for analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Timi
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata, Argentina, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas.
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Loot G, Reyjol Y, Poulet N, Simkova A, Blanchet S, Lek S. Effects of small weirs on fish parasite communities. Parasitol Res 2007; 101:1265-76. [PMID: 17647018 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-007-0632-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2007] [Accepted: 06/08/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we examined the impacts of small weirs on the parasite community of gudgeon and toxostome in a medium-sized river. We tested changes on parasite species diversity using indices that capture both richness and abundance characteristics, and we examined parasite community structure with null models (co-occurrence index C score) and a multiple discriminant function analysis (MDFA). Our results showed that parasite community diversity of gudgeon is strongly influenced by weirs with a maximum diversity upstream of the weirs. Weirs also induce change in abundance of gudgeon parasite species particularly during summer. Nevertheless, we obtained that weirs had no effect on the parasite co-occurrence patterns. In addition, similarity indices indicate that the parasite faunas of newly established limnophilic species (roach and bleak) are host-specific and are rarely transmitted to other fish species. We conclude that fish parasite communities responded in different ways to the presence of impassable weirs, but, in a general tendency, changing environmental conditions induced by weirs may represent an ecological risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geraldine Loot
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, U.M.R. 5174, CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse Cedex 4, France.
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Negovetich NJ, Fellis KJ, Esch GW, Horak IG, Boomker J. AN EXAMINATION OF THE INFRACOMMUNITIES AND COMPONENT COMMUNITIES FROM IMPALA (AEPYCEROS MELAMPUS) IN THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA. J Parasitol 2006; 92:1180-90. [PMID: 17304792 DOI: 10.1645/ge-934r.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The intestinal helminth parasites of the impala from the Kruger National Park, South Africa, were examined to describe the parasite community structure. Demographic variation and the associated differences in behavior were used to further investigate the patterns of community composition. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to test for differences in species richness and mean abundance between the various demographic groups, and nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination was used to compare community composition. Seventeen species of nematodes, totaling more than 1.3 million worms, were recovered. Males harbored a greater number of nematode species than did females, but adult females were more heavily infected than their male counterparts. Lambs acquired infections early in life, and their parasite community composition rapidly approached that of the older animals. The parasite community in the juvenile and adult males was significantly different from the community of the adult females. These data suggest that social and feeding behavior of the different age-sex classes structure the parasite component community of impala. Additionally, the distinction between common and rare parasites, and their classification in other herbivores, implies complex transmission dynamics that includes extensive species sharing within the Kruger National Park.
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Affiliation(s)
- N J Negovetich
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27109, USA.
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Abstract
The neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography is a null model of community structure that suggests that it may be possible to explain the richness and relative abundance of species through neutral processes of immigration, extinction, and speciation, without resort to interactive processes such as competition. There have been no attempts to fit neutral models to parasite communities to date. The nature of parasite communities, however, challenges the basic assumptions of neutral theory. In particular, the spatially dynamic relationships between hosts as habitat patches result in immigration rates that are in a constant state of flux. In addition, the partial compositional overlap of many component communities means that they can affect each other's process rates, which violates the zero-sum assumptions of neutral theory. Despite these obstacles, many of the patterns that neutral theory seeks to explain are still present in parasite communities. Far from being an esoteric special case, parasite communities are ubiquitous in nature and, therefore, any attempts to produce unified theoretical frameworks should accommodate the characteristics of parasite communities, or risk obsolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alistair D M Dove
- Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-5000, USA.
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17
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González MT, Poulin R. Spatial and temporal predictability of the parasite community structure of a benthic marine fish along its distributional range. Int J Parasitol 2005; 35:1369-77. [PMID: 16185695 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2005.07.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2005] [Revised: 07/04/2005] [Accepted: 07/27/2005] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The search for consistent patterns of organisation in parasite communities remains a central theme in parasite community ecology. However, to date, much evidence comes from studies without replication in both space and time; when replicate communities are examined, repeatable patterns are rarely observed. Here we determine, using nested subset analyses, whether the infracommunities of ectoparasites and endoparasites of a benthic marine fish (Sebastes capensis) show non-random structure. Then we examine the spatial repeatability of parasite community structure across the host's distribution in the southern Pacific, and the temporal repeatability of ectoparasite community structure from one locality. In total, 537 fish were captured from different latitudes (between 11 degrees S and 52 degrees S) along the Pacific coast of South America; a further 122 specimens were captured in two other years from one of the sampling localities, Valdivia (40 degrees S). In spite of variation in fish sizes among samples, fish size generally did not correlate with either ecto- or endoparasite species richness. The ecto- and endoparasite species richness of the component communities were also not correlated with fish sample size across the nine localities. Significant nested patterns were found in the ectoparasite communities of S. capensis at all eight localities, except at latitude 52 degrees S. Significant nested patterns were also found in the endoparasite infracommunities of S. capensis at seven of the nine localities, the exceptions being those from latitudes 11 degrees S and 20 degrees S. On a temporal scale, significant nestedness was observed in the ectoparasite infracommunities of S. capensis during each of the 3 years of sampling at Valdivia. In general, the same parasite species are responsible for the repeatability of nested patterns, though their importance varies among localities. The spatial and temporal predictability of the parasite community structure in S. capensis may be associated with the fish's benthic habitat and territorial behavior, suggesting that host biology may be a key determinant of the structure of parasite communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- M T González
- Instituto de Ecología y Evolución., Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567-Valdivia, Chile.
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Zelmer DA, Paredes-Calderón L, León-Règagnon V, García-Prieto L. NESTEDNESS IN COLONIZATION-DOMINATED SYSTEMS: HELMINTH INFRACOMMUNITIES OF RANA VAILLANTI BROCCHI (ANURA: RANIDAE) IN LOS TUXTLAS, VERACRUZ, MEXICO. J Parasitol 2004; 90:705-10. [PMID: 15357057 DOI: 10.1645/ge-3316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Colonization probabilities of parasite species often are determined by the habitat preference and vagility of host individuals. Although extinction-based interpretations have been investigated for nested subset patterns of parasite infracommunities, the low relative frequency of nestedness in colonization-dominated systems makes the determination and interpretation of nested infracommunities of broad ecological importance. In these systems, ontogenetic shifts in habitat preference or diet of the host have the potential to produce nested subset patterns of parasite infracommunities. Helminth infracommunity structure was investigated for 76 Rana vaillanti individuals collected from Laguna Escondida, Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico, in 1998. Pooled helminth infracommunities were significantly nested, as were penetrating and ingested helminth infracommunities when considered separately. Richness, diversity, and evenness of the helminth infracommunities were not correlated with host size, and did not differ between host sexes, suggesting that the structure of infracommunities simply is a product of the interaction between host individuals and their landscape mediated by individual differences in vagility. It is hypothesized that individual differences in recruitment can produce nested subset infracommunity patterns when the habitats or habitat preferences of hosts are themselves nested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek A Zelmer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas 66801, USA.
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