Do the pattern and strength of species associations in ectoparasite communities conform to biogeographic rules?

Krasnov, Boris R.; Shenbrot, Georgy I.; Korallo-Vinarskaya, Natalia P.; Vinarski, Maxim V.; van der Mescht, Luther; Warburton, Elizabeth M.; Khokhlova, Irina S.

doi:10.1007/s00436-019-06255-4

Arthropods and Medical Entomology - Original Paper
Published: 18 February 2019

Do the pattern and strength of species associations in ectoparasite communities conform to biogeographic rules?

Boris R. Krasnov ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0382-3331¹,
Georgy I. Shenbrot¹,
Natalia P. Korallo-Vinarskaya^2,3,
Maxim V. Vinarski^4,5,
Luther van der Mescht^1,6^nAff7,
Elizabeth M. Warburton¹ &
Irina S. Khokhlova⁶

Parasitology Research volume 118, pages 1113–1125 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

We tested whether biogeographic patterns characteristic of species diversity and composition may also apply to community assembly by investigating geographic variation in the pattern (PSA) (aggregation versus segregation) and strength of species associations (SSA) in flea and mite communities harbored by small mammalian hosts in Western Siberia. We asked whether (a) there is a relationship between latitude and PSA or SSA and (b) similarities in PSA or SSA follow a distance decay pattern or if they are better explained by variation in environmental factors (altitude, amount of vegetation, precipitation, and air temperature). We used a sign of a co-occurrence metric (the C-score) as an indicator of PSA and its absolute standardized value as a measure of SSA. We analyzed data using logistic and linear models, generalized dissimilarity modeling (GDM), and a logistic version of the multiple regression on distance matrices (MRM). The majority of the C-scores of the observed presence/absence matrices indicated a tendency to species aggregation rather than segregation. No effect of latitude on PSA or SSA was found. The dissimilarity in PSA was affected by environmental dissimilarity in mite compound communities only. A relatively large proportion of the deviance of spatial variation in SSA was explained by the GDMs in infracommunities, but not component communities, and in only three (of seven) and two (of eight) host species of fleas and mites, respectively. The best predictors of dissimilarity in SSA in fleas differed between host species, whereas the same factor (precipitation) was the best predictor of dissimilarity in SSA in mites. We conclude that PSA and SSA in parasite communities rarely conform to biogeographic rules. However, when a biogeographic pattern is detected, its manifestation differs among hosts and between ectoparasite taxa.

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The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank two anonymous referees for their helpful comments on the earlier version of the manuscript. This is publication no. 1006 of the Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology.

Funding

This study was partly supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant no. 149/17 to BRK and ISK) and the Russian Ministry of Education and Science (grant no. 6.1352.2017/4.6 to MVV and NPKV). EMW received financial support from the Blaustein Center for Scientific Cooperation. LVDM received financial support from the Blaustein Center for Scientific Cooperation and the French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands.

Author information

Luther van der Mescht
Present address: Evolutionary Genomics Group, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa

Affiliations

Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute of Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 84990, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
Boris R. Krasnov, Georgy I. Shenbrot, Luther van der Mescht & Elizabeth M. Warburton
Laboratory of Arthropod-Borne Viral Infections, Omsk Research Institute of Natural Foci Infections, Omsk, Russian Federation
Natalia P. Korallo-Vinarskaya
Omsk State Pedagogical University, Omsk, Russian Federation
Natalia P. Korallo-Vinarskaya
Laboratory of Macroecology and Biogeography of Invertebrates, Saint-Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation
Maxim V. Vinarski
Omsk State University, Omsk, Russian Federation
Maxim V. Vinarski
Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
Luther van der Mescht & Irina S. Khokhlova

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Boris R. Krasnov
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Georgy I. Shenbrot
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Natalia P. Korallo-Vinarskaya
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Maxim V. Vinarski
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Luther van der Mescht
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Elizabeth M. Warburton
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Irina S. Khokhlova
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Correspondence to Boris R. Krasnov.

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Krasnov, B.R., Shenbrot, G.I., Korallo-Vinarskaya, N.P. et al. Do the pattern and strength of species associations in ectoparasite communities conform to biogeographic rules?. Parasitol Res 118, 1113–1125 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06255-4

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Received: 06 January 2019
Accepted: 05 February 2019
Published: 18 February 2019
Issue Date: 03 April 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06255-4

Keywords

Distance decay of similarity
Fleas
Gamasid mites
Latitudinal gradient
Species co-occurrence