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Determinants of lungworm specificity in five cetacean species in the western Mediterranean
- Source :
- Parasites & Vectors, Parasites & Vectors, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Background Current data about Pseudaliidae show contrasting patterns of host specificity between congeneric species. We investigated how both contact and compatibility between hosts and parasites contributed to the patterns of lungworm infection observed in a community of five species of cetaceans in the western Mediterranean. Methods The lungs of 119 striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba, 18 bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, 7 Risso’s dolphins Grampus griseus, 7 long-finned pilot whales Globicephala melas, and 6 common dolphins Delphinus delphis were analysed for lungworms. Parasites were identified by morphology and analysis of ITS2 sequences using both maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods. Body length was used as a proxy for lungworm species fitness in different hosts and compared with Kruskal-Wallis tests. Infection parameters were compared between cetacean species using Fisher’s exact tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Phylogenetic specificity was explored by collating the overall lungworm species prevalence values in hosts from previous surveys in various localities. To explore the relative importance of vertical and horizontal transmission, Spearman’s rank correlation was used to look for an association between host size and lungworm burden. A Mantel test was used to explore the association between lungworm species similarity and prey overlap using dietary data. Results Halocercus delphini had higher infection levels in striped dolphins and common dolphins; Stenurus ovatus had higher infection levels in bottlenose dolphins; and Stenurus globicephalae had higher infection levels in long-finned pilot whales. These results are congruent with findings on a global scale. Morphometric comparison showed that the larger nematodes were found in the same host species that had the highest parasite burden. Lungworms were found in neonatal striped dolphins and a Risso’s dolphin, and there was a weak but significant correlation between host size and parasite burden in striped dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. There was also a weak but significant association between prey overlap and lungworm species similarity. Conclusions Data indicate that phylogenetic specificity has an important role in governing host–parasite associations, as indicated by the higher infection levels and larger nematode size in certain hosts. However, diet can also influence infection patterns in these preferred hosts and contribute to less severe infections in other hosts. Graphical Abstract
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Entomology
Dolphins
Zoology
Delphinus delphis
Stenella coeruleoalba
Infectious and parasitic diseases
RC109-216
Host Specificity
Predation
Host-Parasite Interactions
03 medical and health sciences
biology.animal
Mediterranean Sea
Animals
Parasites
Grampus griseus
Pseudaliidae
Phylogeny
Cetaceans
biology
Mediterranean Region
Research
Whales
Lungworms
030108 mycology & parasitology
biology.organism_classification
Globicephala melas
Metastrongyloidea
030104 developmental biology
Infectious Diseases
Mantel test
Parasitology
Cetacea
Lungworm
human activities
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 17563305
- Volume :
- 14
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Parasitesvectors
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....6341b7d2b61b76de34c630edfe7319fa