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Aggregation of congeneric parasites (Monogenea: Dactylogyrus) among gill microhabitats within one host species (Rutilus rutilus L.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2003

A. šIMKOVÁ
Affiliation:
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina B-1, 84215 Bratislava, Slovak Republic Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 61137 Brno, Czech Republic
M. GELNAR
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 61137 Brno, Czech Republic
P. SASAL
Affiliation:
Centre de Biologie et d'Ecologie Tropicale et Mediterranéenne, UMR 5555 CNRS, Université de Perpignan, Avenue de Villeneuve, 66860 Perpignan Cedex, France

Abstract

Parasite aggregation within the gill arches of 1 host species (Rutilus rutilus L.) was studied in the case of 9 congeneric monogeneans belonging to the genus Dactylogyrus. Both intra- and interspecific aggregation were followed by considering gill arches as independent patches. Parasite species were found to be aggregated both intra- and interspecifically. We showed that the intensity of parasite infection was positively related to intraspecific aggregation only for the more abundant species. No relationship was found between intensity of parasite infection and niche size when correcting for total parasite intensity. This may suggest that when parasite intensities are low, intraspecific competition may not have a strong effect on parasites. Conversely, when looking at the evolution of niche size and intraspecific aggregation for each species separately, intraspecific aggregation decreased for the most abundant species (D. crucifer) suggesting that this species is more competitive than others when total parasite intensity increases. When considering interspecific aggregation, Dactylogyrus species were found to be positively and negatively aggregated. Following the prediction of morphological and ecological similarity for congeneric species, Dactylogyrus species similar in morphometry of attachment parts tend to be more positively aggregated among their gill microhabitats than Dactylogyrus species with morphometric differences in attachment parts.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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