MONOGENEA IN DEEPWATER CICHLIDS: DECREASE IN HOST SPECIFICITY OR ONGOING SPECIATION?
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| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Lake Tanganyika contains unique species flocks of vertebrate and invertebrate taxa and harbours the most diverse cichlid species assemblage of all African lakes. This makes it an unrivalled study area in the field of biodiversity and investigations of parasite evolution processes and mechanisms. Whereas in littoral Tanganyika cichlids the hostspecificity of Cichlidogyrus species (Monogenea, Dactylogyridae) is relatively strong, a previous study indicates reduction of this specificity in deepwater habitats. In our study we examined and analysed monogeneans occurring in deepwater cichlids from three different tribes (Bathybatini, Trematocarini, Benthochromini). Samples originated from many localities throughout the lake. Hypotheses were tested by three different techniques including morphometrics, geomorphometrics and genetic characterization using multivariate statistical approaches. We confirmed the reduction of host-specifity of Cichlidogyrus casuarinus in the deepwater realm; this parasite is widespread throughout the tribe Bathybatini. On the other hand, there is evident intraspecific variation in parasite sclerotized structures influenced by host preference. Since intraspecific genetic variation is independent from the host species, this pattern seems to be caused by phenotypic changes during ontogenetic development. Moreover, analyses of parasite demographic history on the basis of COI sequences indicate recent population increase of C. casuarinus. |
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