scholarly journals Negative associations between parasite avoidance, resistance and tolerance predict host health in salmonid fish populations

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1925) ◽  
pp. 20200388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Klemme ◽  
Pekka Hyvärinen ◽  
Anssi Karvonen

Genetic variation in defence against parasite infections is fundamental for host–parasite evolution. The overall level of defence of a host individual or population includes mechanisms that reduce parasite exposure (avoidance), establishment (resistance) or pathogenicity (tolerance). However, how these traits operate and evolve in concert is not well understood. Here, we investigated genetic variation in and associations between avoidance, resistance and tolerance in a natural host–parasite system. Replicated populations of Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) and sea trout (an anadromous form of brown trout, Salmo trutta ) were raised under common garden conditions and infected with the eye fluke Diplostomum pseudospathaceum . We demonstrate significant genetic variation in the defence traits across host populations and negative associations between the traits, with the most resistant populations showing the weakest avoidance and the lowest infection tolerance. These results are suggestive of trade-offs between different components of defence and possibly underlie the genetic variation in defence traits observed in the wild. Because the three defence mechanisms affect host–parasite evolution in profoundly different ways, we emphasize the importance of studying these traits in concert.

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 2700-2707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katriina Tiira ◽  
Jorma Piironen ◽  
Craig R Primmer

Inbreeding is one of the factors that can result in high infant mortality. In many species, however, mortality at early life stages is very difficult to observe in the wild and estimates from later life stages may therefore underestimate the effects of reduced genetic variability on fitness. Using microsatellites, we compared the amount of genetic variation in severely deformed fry of Lake Saimaa salmon (Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) hatchery brood stocks with normal fry from the same brood stocks. We observed significantly lower standardized heterozygosity and higher internal relatedness values for deformed fry of both species compared with normal fry. Our results suggest that (i) inbreeding can be an important factor causing severe deformities in juvenile salmonids and (ii) high mortality of severely deformed low heterozygosity individuals in early life stages may partly explain why some studies exploring heterozygosity–fitness correlations fail to find any association. An important direction for future research on this topic will be to compare the results of experiments conducted in captivity with those of similar experiments conducted in wild or semi-wild conditions, as such studies would help to better understand the direct relevance of research conducted in captivity with respect to the conservation of wild populations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (11) ◽  
pp. 1772-1779
Author(s):  
Nico Alioravainen ◽  
Jenni M. Prokkola ◽  
Alexandre Lemopoulos ◽  
Laura Härkönen ◽  
Pekka Hyvärinen ◽  
...  

Behaviour that is adaptive in captivity may be maladaptive in the wild and compromise postrelease survival of hatchery fish. The understanding of behavioural variation displayed immediately after release could help to improve hatchery protocols and development of behavioural tests for assessing the fitness of fish reared for releases. We characterized the postrelease behaviour of common-garden-raised offspring of wild resident, captive-bred migratory, and hybrid brown trout (Salmo trutta) in two experiments: in small artificial channels and in high and low densities in seminatural streams. The results from seminatural streams showed that hatchery fish were more likely to disperse downstream from the initial stocking site compared with hybrid and wild strain fish. The small-scale experiment did not reveal this ecologically pivotal difference in postrelease performance among strains, and individual responses were inconsistent between the experiments. Circadian activity patterns did not differ among strains. These detailed observations of postrelease behaviour reveal important intrinsic differences in dispersal traits among brown trout strains and suggest that selective breeding and crossbreeding can substantially affect these traits.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Jessica S. Ambriz ◽  
Clementina González ◽  
Eduardo Cuevas

Abstract Fuchsia parviflora is a dioecious shrub that depends on biotic pollination for reproduction. Previous studies suggest that the male plants produce more flowers, and male-biased sex ratios have been found in some natural populations. To assess whether the biased sex ratios found between genders in natural populations are present at the point at which plants reach sexual maturity, and to identify possible trade-offs between growth and reproduction, we performed a common garden experiment. Finally, to complement the information of the common garden experiment, we estimated the reproductive biomass allocation between genders in one natural population. Sex ratios at reaching sexual maturity in F. parviflora did not differ from 0.5, except in one population, which was the smallest seedling population. We found no differences between genders in terms of the probability of germination or flowering. When flowering began, female plants were taller than males and the tallest plants of both genders required more time to reach sexual maturity. Males produced significantly more flowers than females, and the number of flowers increased with plant height in both genders. Finally, in the natural population studied, the investment in reproductive biomass was seven-fold greater in female plants than in male plants. Our results showed no evidence of possible trade-offs between growth and reproduction. Despite the fact that female plants invest more in reproductive biomass, they were taller than the males after flowering, possibly at the expense of herbivory defence.


Botany ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-213
Author(s):  
Anselmo Nogueira ◽  
Pedro J. Rey ◽  
Julio M. Alcántara ◽  
Lúcia G. Lohmann

Extra-floral nectaries (EFNs) are thought to represent protective adaptations against herbivory, but studies on the evolutionary ecology of EFNs have seldom been conducted. Here we investigate the patterns of natural selection and genetic variation in EFN traits in two wild populations of Anemopaegma album Mart. ex DC. (Bignoniaceae) that have been previously described as contrasting EFN – ant adapted localities in the Neotropical savanna (Cristália and Grão Mogol). In each population, four EFN descriptors, foliar damage, and reproductive success variables were measured per plant (100–120 plants per population). To estimate the heritability of EFN traits, we crossed reproductive plants in the field, and grew offspring plants in a common garden. The results showed that ant assemblages differed between populations, as did the range of foliar herbivory. Genetic variation and positive phenotypic selection in EFN abundance were only detected in the Cristália population, in which plants with more EFNs were more likely to reproduce. An evaluation of putative causal links conducted by path analysis corroborated the existence of phenotypic selection on EFNs, which was mediated by the herbivory process in the Cristália population. While EFNs could be currently under selection in Cristália, it is possible that past selection may have driven EFN traits to become locally adapted to the local ant assemblage in the Grão Mogol population.


2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 1071-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Bui ◽  
Elina Halttunen ◽  
Agnes M Mohn ◽  
Tone Vågseth ◽  
Frode Oppedal

Abstract With different ecological characteristics amongst salmonid species, their response to parasitic infestation is likely to vary according to their spatial and temporal overlap with the parasite. This study investigated the host–parasite interactions amongst three species of salmonids and the ectoparasitic salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis. To determine any variation in infestation parameters amongst salmonids, single population groups of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), chinook salmon (Onchorhynchus tshawytscha), and previously-infested and naïve sea trout (Salmo trutta) were exposed to a controlled infestation challenge. We found that chinook salmon and both sea trout groups were more susceptible to acquiring lice than Atlantic salmon. Behavioural responses during infestation were more pronounced in Atlantic and chinook salmon. Parasite development was similar in lice attached to Atlantic salmon and sea trout, but hindered on chinook salmon. At 16 days post-infestation, chinook salmon had reduced lice loads to the same level as Atlantic salmon, whilst sea trout retained their lice. These results demonstrate differences in interactions with L. salmonis amongst these species, and highlight the vulnerability of sea trout to infestation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nayden Chakarov ◽  
Helge Kampen ◽  
Anja Wiegmann ◽  
Doreen Werner ◽  
Staffan Bensch

Abstract Background: The behaviour of blood-sucking arthropods is a crucial determinant of blood protozoan distribution and hence of host-parasite coevolution, but it is very challenging to study in the wild. The molecular identification of parasite lineages in vectors can be a useful key to understand the behaviour and transmission patterns realised by these vectors. Methods: In this study, we collected blackflies around nests of three raptor species in the upper forest canopy in central Europe and examined the presence of vertebrate DNA and haemosporidian parasites in them. We molecularly analysed 156 blackfly individuals, their vertebrate blood meals, and the haemosporidian parasite lineages they carried. Results: We identified nine species of Simulium blackflies, largely belonging to the subgenera Nevermannia and Eusimulium. Only 1% of the collected specimens was visibly engorged, and only 4% contained remains of host DNA. However, in 29% of the blackflies Leucocytozoon lineages were identified, which is evidence of a previous blood meal on an avian host. Based on the known vertebrate hosts of the recorded Leucocytozoon lineages, we can infer that large and/or abundant birds, such as thrushes, crows, pigeons, birds of prey, owls and tits are the main targets of ornithophilic blackflies in the canopy. Blackfly species contained similar proportions of host group-specific parasite lineages and thus do not appear to be associated with particular host groups. Conclusions: The Leucocytozoon clade infecting thrushes, crows, and pigeons present in most represented blackfly species suggests a lack of association between hosts and blackflies, which can increase the probability of host switches of blood parasites. However, the composition of the simuliid species differed between nests of common buzzards, goshawks and red kites. This segregation can be explained by coinciding habitat preferences between host and vector, and may lead to the fast speciation of Leucocytozoon parasites. Thus, subtle ecological preferences and lack of host preference of vectors in the canopy may enable both parasite diversification and host switches, and enforce a habitat-dependent evolution of avian malaria parasites and related haemosporidia.


Author(s):  
Giacomo Zilio ◽  
Louise Solveig Noergaard ◽  
Giovanni Petrucci ◽  
Nathalie Zeballos ◽  
Claire Gougat-Barbera ◽  
...  

Dispersal plays a main role in determining spatial dynamics, and both theory and empirical evidence indicate that evolutionary optima exist for constitutive or plastic dispersal behaviour. Plasticity in dispersal can be influenced by factors both internal (state-dependent) or external (context-dependent) to individuals. Parasitism is interesting in this context, as it can influence both types of host dispersal plasticity: individuals can disperse in response to internal infection status but might also respond to the presence of infected individuals around them. We still know little about the driving evolutionary forces of host dispersal plasticity, but a first requirement is the presence of a genetic basis on which natural selection can act. In this study, we used microcosm dispersal mazes to investigate plastic dispersal of 20 strains of the freshwater protist Paramecium caudatum in response to the bacterial parasite Holospora undulata. We additionally quantified the genetic component of the plastic responses, i.e. the heritability of state- and context-depended dispersal. We found that infection by the parasite can either increase or decrease dispersal of individual strains relative to the uninfected (state-dependent plasticity), and this to be heritable. We also found strain-specific change of dispersal of uninfected Paramecium when exposed to variable infection prevalence (context-dependent plasticity) with very low level of heritability. To our knowledge, this is the first explicit empirical demonstration and quantification of genetic variation of plastic dispersal in a host-parasite system, which could have important implications for meta-population and epidemiological dynamics. We discuss some of the underlying mechanisms of this variation and link our results to the existing theoretical models.


Author(s):  
R Sierra-de-Grado ◽  
V Pando ◽  
J Voltas ◽  
R Zas ◽  
J Majada ◽  
...  

Abstract Although the straightening capacity of the stem is key for light capture and mechanical stability in forest trees, little is known about its adaptive implications. Assuming that stem straightening is costly, trade-offs are expected with competing processes such as growth, maintenance and defences. We established a manipulative experiment in a common garden of Pinus pinaster including provenances typically showing either straight-stemmed or crooked-stemmed phenotypes. We imposed a bending up to 35º on plants aged nine years of both provenance groups and followed the straightening kinetics and shoot elongation after releasing. Eight months later, we destructively assessed biomass partitioning, reaction wood, wood microdensity, xylem reserve carbohydrates and phloem secondary metabolites. The experimental bending and release caused significant, complex changes with a marked difference between straight- and crooked-type plants. The straight-type recovered verticality faster and to a higher degree and developed more compression wood, while displaying a transitory delay in shoot elongation, reducing resource allocation to defences and maintaining the levels of non-structural carbohydrates compared to the crooked type. This combination of responses indicates the existence of intraspecific divergence in the reaction to mechanical stresses which may be related to different adaptive phenotypic plasticity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romain Pigeault ◽  
Mathieu Chevalier ◽  
Camille-sophie Cozzarolo ◽  
Molly Baur ◽  
Mathilde Arlettaz ◽  
...  

Co-infections with multiple pathogens are common in the wild and may act as a strong selective pressure on both host and parasite evolution. Yet, contrary to single infection, the factors that shape co-infection risk are largely under-investigated. Here, we explored the extent to which bird ecology and phylogeny impact single and co-infection probabilities by haemosporidian parasites using large datasets from museum collections and a Bayesian phylogenetic modelling framework. While both phylogeny and species attributes (e.g. size of the geographic range, life-history strategy, migration) were relevant predictors of co-infection risk, these factors were less pertinent in predicting the probability of being single infected. Our study suggests that co-infection risk is under a stronger deterministic control than single-infection risk. These results underscore the combined influence of host evolutionary history and species attributes in determining single and co-infection pattern providing new avenues regarding our ability to predict infection risk in the wild.


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