Life history shifts in an exploited African fish following invasion by a castrating parasite.

Autor: Gabagambi NP; Department of Biological Sciences University of Bergen Bergen Norway., Skorping A; Department of Biological Sciences University of Bergen Bergen Norway., Chacha M; Department of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Technology College of Agricultural Sciences and Fisheries Technology University of Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam Tanzania., Jonathan Kihedu K; Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute Kyela Center Mbeya Tanzania., Mennerat A; Department of Biological Sciences University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Ecology and evolution [Ecol Evol] 2020 Oct 29; Vol. 10 (23), pp. 13225-13235. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Oct 29 (Print Publication: 2020).
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6917
Abstrakt: Evolutionary theory predicts that infection by a parasite that reduces future host survival or fecundity should select for increased investment in current reproduction. In this study, we use the cestode Ligula intestinalis and its intermediate fish host Engraulicypris sardella in Wissman Bay, Lake Nyasa (Tanzania), as a model system. Using data about infection of E. sardella fish hosts by L. intestinalis collected for a period of 10 years, we explored whether parasite infection affects the fecundity of the fish host E. sardella , and whether host reproductive investment has increased at the expense of somatic growth. We found that L. intestinalis had a strong negative effect on the fecundity of its intermediate fish host. For the noninfected fish, we observed an increase in relative gonadal weight at maturity over the study period, while size at maturity decreased. These findings suggest that the life history of E. sardella has been shifting toward earlier reproduction. Further studies are warranted to assess whether these changes reflect plastic or evolutionary responses. We also discuss the interaction between parasite and fishery-mediated selection as a possible explanation for the decline of E. sardella stock in the lake.
Competing Interests: None declared.
(© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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