Patterns of host–parasite associations in tropical lice and their passerine hosts in Cameroon

0525644 - ÚBO 2021 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Gajdošová, M. - Sychra, O. - Kreisinger, J. - Sedláček, O. - Nana, E. D. - Albrecht, Tomáš - Munclinger, P.
Patterns of host–parasite associations in tropical lice and their passerine hosts in Cameroon.
Ecology and Evolution. Roč. 10, č. 13 (2020), s. 6512-6524. ISSN 2045-7758. E-ISSN 2045-7758
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-24782S
Institutional support: RVO:68081766
Keywords : cospeciation * feather lice * host switching * host–parasite associations * passerines * tropical ecology
OECD category: Ecology
Impact factor: 2.881, year: 2020
Method of publishing: Open access
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.6386

Coevolutionary processes that drive the patterns of host–parasite associations can be deduced through congruence analysis of their phylogenies. Feather lice and their avian hosts have previously been used as typical model systems for congruence analysis, however, such analyses are strongly biased toward nonpasserine hosts in the temperate zone. Further, in the Afrotropical region especially, cospeciation studies of lice and birds are entirely missing. This work supplements knowledge of host–parasite associations in lice using cospeciation analysis of feather lice (genus Myrsidea and the Brueelia complex) and their avian hosts in the tropical rainforests of Cameroon. Our analysis revealed a limited number of cospeciation events in both parasite groups. The parasite–host associations in both louse groups were predominantly shaped by host switching. Despite a general dissimilarity in phylogeny for the parasites and hosts, we found significant congruence in host–parasite distance matrices, mainly driven by associations between Brueelia lice and passerine species of the Waxbill (Estrildidae) family, and Myrsidea lice and their Bulbul (Pycnonotidae) host species. As such, our study supports the importance of complex biotic interactions in tropical environments.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0309754