Evolution and determinants of host specificity of monogeneans parasitizing African cichlid fish.
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| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Citation | |
| Description | Host specificity is considered as a result of various factors including phylogenetic and ecological aspects. However, the basic of features governing the evolution of host specificity is not yet fully understood. In this study, the evolution and determinants of host specificity in gill monogeneans of Cichlidogyrus and Scutogyrus species parasitizing African freshwater fish of Cichlidae were investigated. More specifically, we analyzed (1) a link between host specificity and parasite phylogeny, (2) potential morphometric correlates of host specificity (i.e. parasite body size and morphometric variables of attachment apparatus), (3) potential determinants of host specificity following the hypothesis of speciation on predictable resources, (4) a link between host range and parasite abundance following the hypothesis of ecological specialization, and (5) the role of brooding behavior of cichlids for parasite diversification including the aspect of host specificity. In addition, we investigated whether specificity represents an ancestral or derived state for parasites of Cichlidogyrus-Scutogyrus group. We showed that host specificity of Cichlidogyrus and Scutogyrus species is not linked to parasite phylogeny suggesting that specificity may reflect other than historical constrains. Our results suggest that morphometry of the attachment apparatus reflects only partially (if at all) parasite adaptation to the host species likely because of morphological similarity of rapidly evolved cichlids. The mapping of host specificity onto the parasite phylogenetic tree suggests that intermediate specialist parasitizing congeneric hosts represents the ancestral state for Cichlidogyrus/Scutogyrus group. Our study did not support the specialization on predictable resources and ecological specialization hypotheses. However, we showed that phylogeny and brooding behavior of cichlids may play an important role for determining host specificity of Cichlidogyrus/Scutogyrus parasites. |
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