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Latitudinal gradient in the taxonomic composition of parasite communities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 November 2010

R. Poulin  and
T.L.F Leung
R. Poulin*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin9054, New Zealand
T.L.F Leung
Affiliation:
Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW2351, Australia
*
*E-mail: robert.poulin@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
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Abstract

Although latitudinal gradients in diversity have been well studied, latitudinal variation in the taxonomic composition of communities has received less attention. Here, we use a large dataset including 950 surveys of helminth endoparasite communities in 650 species of vertebrate hosts to test for latitudinal changes in the relative contributions of trematodes, cestodes, nematodes and acanthocephalans to parasite assemblages. Although the species richness of helminth communities showed no consistent latitudinal variation, their taxonomic composition varied as a function of both host type and latitude. First, trematodes and acanthocephalans accounted for a higher proportion of species in helminth communities of fish, whereas nematodes achieved a higher proportion of the species in communities of bird and especially mammal hosts. Second, the proportion of trematodes in helminth communities of birds and mammals increased toward higher latitudes. Finally, the proportion of nematodes per community increased toward lower latitudes regardless of the type of host. We present tentative explanations for these patterns, and argue that new insights in parasite community ecology can be gained by searching for latitudinal gradients not only in parasite species richness, but also in the taxonomic composition of parasite assemblages.

Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 85 , Issue 3 , September 2011 , pp. 228 - 233
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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