Are cryptic host species also cryptic to parasites? Host specificity and geographical distribution of acanthocephalan parasites infecting freshwater Gammarus

Westram, A.M.; Baumgartner, C.; Keller, Irene; Jokela, J. (2011). Are cryptic host species also cryptic to parasites? Host specificity and geographical distribution of acanthocephalan parasites infecting freshwater Gammarus. Infection, genetics and evolution, 11(5), pp. 1083-1090. Elsevier 10.1016/j.meegid.2011.03.024

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Many parasites infect multiple host species. In coevolving host–parasite interactions, theory predicts that parasites should be adapted to locally common hosts, which could lead to regional shifts in host preferences. We studied the interaction between freshwater Gammarus (Crustacea, Amphipoda) and their acanthocephalan parasites using a large-scale field survey and experiments, combined with molecular identification of cryptic host and parasite species. Gammarus pulex is a common host for multiple species of Acanthocephala in Europe but, in Switzerland, is less common than two cryptic members of the Gammarus fossarum species complex (type A and type B). We found that natural populations of these cryptic species were frequently infected by Pomphorhynchus tereticollis and Polymorphus minutus. Four additional parasite species occurred only locally. Parasites were more common in G. fossarum type B than in type A. Infection experiments using several host and parasite sources confirmed consistently lower infection rates in G. pulex than in G. fossarum type A, suggesting a general difference in susceptibility between the two species. In conclusion, we could show that cryptic host species differ in their interactions with parasites, but that these differences were much less dramatic than differences between G. fossarum (type A) and G. pulex. Our data suggest that the acanthocephalans in Switzerland have adapted to the two most common Gammarus species in this region where host species frequencies differ from near-by regions in Europe.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE) > Aquatic Ecology

UniBE Contributor:

Keller, Irene (B)

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology

ISSN:

1567-1348

Publisher:

Elsevier

Language:

English

Submitter:

Marcel Häsler

Date Deposited:

05 Sep 2014 16:06

Last Modified:

29 Mar 2023 23:33

Publisher DOI:

10.1016/j.meegid.2011.03.024

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Host–parasite interactions, Host specificity, Cryptic species, Acanthocephala, Amphipods

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.49058

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/49058

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