Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, Nahant, MA 01908, USA.
Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Partnership, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2023 Mar 29;290(1995):20222560. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2560.
Intraspecific variation in host susceptibility to individual parasite species is common, yet how these effects scale to mediate the structure of diverse parasite communities in nature is less well understood. To address this knowledge gap, we tested how host genetic identity affects parasite communities on restored reefs seeded with juvenile oysters from different sources-a regional commercial hatchery or one of two wild progenitor lines. We assessed prevalence and intensity of three micro- and two macroparasite species for 4 years following restoration. Despite the spatial proximity of restored reefs, oyster source identity strongly predicted parasite community prevalence across all years, with sources varying in their relative susceptibility to different parasites. Oyster seed source also predicted reef-level parasite intensities across space and through time. Our results highlight that host intraspecific variation can shape parasite community structure in natural systems, and reinforce the importance of considering source identity and diversity in restoration design.
同种内宿主对个体寄生虫物种易感性的变异很常见，但这些效应如何扩展到自然界中不同寄生虫群落的结构仍知之甚少。为了填补这一知识空白，我们测试了宿主遗传身份如何影响用来自不同来源（地区商业孵化场或两个野生亲代系之一）的幼年牡蛎播种的恢复珊瑚礁上的寄生虫群落。我们在恢复后 4 年内评估了三种微寄生虫和两种大寄生虫的流行率和强度。尽管恢复后的珊瑚礁空间上很接近，但牡蛎来源身份在所有年份都强烈预测了寄生虫群落的流行率，不同来源对不同寄生虫的相对易感性也有所不同。牡蛎苗种来源也预测了跨空间和跨时间的珊瑚礁级寄生虫密度。我们的结果表明，种内宿主变异可以塑造自然系统中的寄生虫群落结构，并强调在恢复设计中考虑来源身份和多样性的重要性。
