Muñoz G, Grutter A S, Cribb T H
School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Qld, Australia.
Parasitology. 2006 Mar;132(Pt 3):363-74. doi: 10.1017/S0031182005009133. Epub 2005 Dec 7.
The parasite community of animals is generally influenced by host physiology, ecology, and phylogeny. Therefore, sympatric and phylogenetically related hosts with similar ecologies should have similar parasite communities. To test this hypothesis we surveyed the endoparasites of 5 closely related cheilinine fishes (Labridae) from the Great Barrier Reef. They were Cheilinus chlorourus, C. trilobatus, C. fasciatus, Epibulus insidiator and Oxycheilinus diagramma. We examined the relationship between parasitological variables (richness, abundance and diversity) and host characteristics (body weight, diet and phylogeny). The 5 fishes had 31 parasite species with 9-18 parasite species per fish species. Cestode larvae (mostly Tetraphyllidea) were the most abundant and prevalent parasites followed by nematodes and digeneans. Parasites, body size and diet of hosts differed between fish species. In general, body weight, diet and host phylogeny each explained some of the variation in richness and composition of parasites among the fishes. The 2 most closely related species, Cheilinus chlorourus and C. trilobatus, had broadly similar parasites but the other fish species differed significantly in all variables. However, there was no all-encompassing pattern. This may be because different lineages of parasites may react differently to ecological variables. We also argue that adult parasites may respond principally to host diet. In contrast, larval parasite composition may respond both to host diet and predator-prey interactions because this is the path by which many parasites complete their life-cycles. Finally, variation in parasite phylogeny and parasite life-cycles among hosts likely increase the complexity of the system making it difficult to find all-encompassing patterns between host characteristics and parasites, particularly when all the species in rich parasite communities are considered.
动物的寄生虫群落通常受宿主的生理学、生态学和系统发育的影响。因此，具有相似生态的同域且系统发育相关的宿主应具有相似的寄生虫群落。为了验证这一假设，我们调查了来自大堡礁的5种亲缘关系密切的唇鱼科鱼类（隆头鱼科）的体内寄生虫。它们分别是绿唇鱼、三叶唇鱼、横带唇鱼、尖嘴龙占丽鱼和五带豆娘鱼。我们研究了寄生虫学变量（丰富度、丰度和多样性）与宿主特征（体重、饮食和系统发育）之间的关系。这5种鱼共有31种寄生虫，每种鱼有9 - 18种寄生虫。绦虫幼虫（主要是四叶目）是最丰富和最普遍的寄生虫，其次是线虫和复殖吸虫。不同鱼类的寄生虫、体型和饮食存在差异。总体而言，体重、饮食和宿主系统发育各自解释了鱼类之间寄生虫丰富度和组成的部分变异。关系最密切的两种鱼，绿唇鱼和三叶唇鱼，具有大致相似的寄生虫，但其他鱼类在所有变量上都有显著差异。然而，并没有一个全面的模式。这可能是因为不同的寄生虫谱系对生态变量的反应可能不同。我们还认为，成年寄生虫可能主要对宿主饮食做出反应。相比之下，幼虫寄生虫的组成可能对宿主饮食和捕食者 - 猎物相互作用都有反应，因为这是许多寄生虫完成其生命周期的途径。最后，宿主之间寄生虫系统发育和寄生虫生命周期的变异可能增加了系统的复杂性，使得难以找到宿主特征与寄生虫之间的全面模式，特别是当考虑丰富寄生虫群落中的所有物种时。
