Parasite diversity and ecology in a model species, the guppy (Poecilia reticulata) in Trinidad.

Ryan S Mohammed,Paul Bentzen,Cock Van Oosterhout,Stanley D King,David Marcogliese,Jackie Lighten

doi:10.1098/rsos.191112

Abstract

The guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is a model species in ecology and evolution. Many studies have examined effects of predators on guppy behaviour, reproduction, survival strategies, feeding and other life-history traits, but few have studied variation in their parasite diversity. We surveyed parasites of 18 Trinidadian populations of guppy, to provide insight on the geographical mosaic of parasite variability, which may act as a source of natural selection acting on guppies. We found 21 parasite species, including five new records for Trinidad. Spatial variation in parasite diversity was significantly higher than that of piscine predators, and significant variation in parasite richness among individuals and populations was correlated with: (i) host size, (ii) snail species richness, and (iii) the distance between populations. Differences in parasite species richness are likely to play an important, yet underestimated role in the biology of this model species of vertebrate ecology and evolution.

Highlights

The guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is a model organism of vertebrate ecology and evolution with a native range spanning northern royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos R
Standard length explained a small amount of variation in parasite richness, with larger males infected with more species (GLM, F1,240 = 13.41, p < 0.001, table 1, electronic supplementary material, figure S1)
We identified three factors which correlate with variation in parasite species richness between individuals, and populations; (i) host size, (ii) the snail species richness, and (iii) distance between populations

Summary

Introduction

The guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is a model organism of vertebrate ecology and evolution with a native range spanning northern royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsos R. 7: 191112 Gulf of Paria Caribbean Sea. 2 parasite species Atlantic Ocean. 9 Gyrodactylus bullatarudis Gyrodactylus turnbulli Urocleidoides reticulatus Camallanus sp.

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Discussion

Conclusion