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Numerical and functional responses of intestinal helminths in three rajid skates: evidence for competition between parasites?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 August 2012

HASEEB S. RANDHAWA
HASEEB S. RANDHAWA*
Affiliation:
Ecology Degree Programme, Department of Botany, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand9054
*
*Corresponding author: Tel: +64 3 471 6146. E-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

Host-parasite interactions generally involve communities of parasites. Within these communities, species will co-exist and/or interact with one another in a manner either benefiting the species involved or to the detriment of one or more of the species. At the level of helminth infracommunities, evidence for intra- and inter-specific competition includes numerical responses, i.e. those regulating helminth intensity of infection, and functional responses, i.e. where the presence of competitors modifies the realised niche of infrapopulations. The objectives of this study are to assess the numerical and functional responses of helminths in infracommunities from 3 rajid skates using general linear models. Despite a lack of numerical responses, functional responses to intra- and inter-specific interactions were observed. A positive correlation between the number of individuals in an infrapopulation and its niche breadth (functional response) was observed for the tapeworms Pseudanthobothrium spp. and Echeneibothrium spp., in all their respective hosts, and for the nematode Pseudanisakis sp. in the little skate. Evidence for inter-specific competition includes niche shifts in Pseudanthobothrium purtoni (ex little skate) and Pseudanisakis sp. (ex thorny skate) in the presence of Pseudanisakis sp. and the tapeworm Grillotia sp., respectively. These results are consistent with other studies in providing evidence for competition between helminths of skates.

Keywords

cestodescompetitionelasmobranchsfunctional responsegeneral linear modelhelminthsnematodesniche breadthnumerical responseskates
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 139 , Issue 13 , November 2012 , pp. 1784 - 1793
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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