Parasite species coexistence and the evolution of the parasite niche
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| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Congeneric monogeneans parasitizing fish gills exhibit narrow niches. They often exhibit strict host specificity and microhabitat segregation. A likely explanation is thatthis enhances mating opportunities, which is supported by the observation that species coexisting on the same host showed a high level of intraspecific aggregations compared to interspecific aggregations. Congeneric monogeneans with morphologically similar attachment organs have similar microhabitat requirements and often overlap on fish gills, which suggests that interspecific competition is not a limiting factor in the morphological diversification of the attachment organs. However, these congeneric species that overlap in their niches differ in the morphology of their copulatory organs, which reinforces their reproductive isolation. Species coexistence and species diversity in monogeneans is facilitated by pre-zygotic isolation. |
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