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The geography of parasite discovery across taxa and over time

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2018

Robert Poulin Open the ORCID record for Robert Poulin [Opens in a new window]  and
Fátima Jorge Open the ORCID record for Fátima Jorge [Opens in a new window]
Robert Poulin*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
Fátima Jorge
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
*
Author for correspondence: Robert Poulin, E-mail: robert.poulin@otago.ac.nz
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Abstract

We need reliable data on the spatial distribution of parasites in order to achieve an inventory of global parasite biodiversity and establish robust conservation initiatives based on regional disease risk. This requires an integrated and spatially consistent effort toward the discovery of new parasite species. Using a large and representative dataset on the geographical coordinates where 4943 helminth species were first discovered, we first test whether the geographical distribution of parasite species reports is spatially congruent across helminth higher taxa; i.e. whether areas, where many trematodes are found, are also areas where many nematodes or cestodes have been discovered. Second, we test whether the global geographical distribution of new helminth species reports has changed significantly over time, i.e. across the last few decades. After accounting for spatial autocorrelation in the data, we find no strong statistical support for either of the patterns we investigated. Overall, our results indicate that helminth species discoveries are both spatially incongruent among higher taxa of helminths, and inconsistent over time. These findings suggest that the global parasite discovery effort is inefficient, spatially biased and subject to idiosyncrasies. Coordinated biodiscovery programmes, involving research teams with expertise in multiple taxonomic groups, seem the best approach to remedy these issues.

Keywords

Biodiversityglobal scalehelminthsspatial autocorrelationspecies descriptionstaxonomyvertebrate hosts
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 146 , Issue 2 , February 2019 , pp. 168 - 175
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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