Effects of a co-existence of invasive Barbus barbus and local Barbus meridionalis on the composition of metazoan parasite communities
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| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | During the 2007-2013 allopatric populations for B. barbus and B. meridionalis were examined on the Rivers Allier and Varages, respectively. On the Rivers Durance and Ardeche, B. barbus individuals with a very low level of admixture from B. meridionalis individuals were found using microsatellite markers. Finally, individuals of both Barbus species were collected from the Argens River, where co-existence and hybridization between these two species is a result of a very recent introduction of B. barbus into the habitats of B. meridionalis. Examination of fish for metazoan revealed the presence of parasites belonging to both endoparasitic (Acanthocephala, Cestoda, Trematoda, Nematoda) and ectoparasitic (Monogenea, Crustacea, Mollusca) groups. In the allopatric populations of B. barbus and B. meridionalis, Monogenea and Acanthocephala, respectively, represent the most dominant groups of parasites. While monogeneans dominated in B. barbus populations on the Rivers Durance and Ardeche, both monogenean and acantocephalan parasites were highly abundant in host populations on the Argens River. Overall, higher abundance and species richness of metazoan parasites were detected in B. barbus allopatric population and populations on the Rivers Durance and Ardeche compared to the B. barbus individuals on Argens River. At the same time, significantly higher metazoan parasite species richness was revealed in the local B. meridionalis individuals compared with alien B. barbus individuals within the Argens River. These results are in congruence with general scenario of the parasite loss after the host introduction into the new environments where parasites are locally adapted. |
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