Mating system and reproductive performance in the isopod Parabopyrella lata, a parasitic castrator of the ‘peppermint’ shrimp Lysmata boggessi

Crustaceans as hosts of parasites throughout the Phanerozoic

“…Regarding the timing of infestation, infestation of many modern decapods by bopyroids is suggested to occur almost exclusively in juvenile hosts based on (1) a positive and often significant relationship between parasite size and host size (e.g., Allen 1966; Beck 1980; Abu-Hakima 1984; Cash and Bauer 1993; Oliveira and Masunari 1998; Roccatagliata and Lovrich 1999; González and Acuña 2004; Mantelatto and Miranda 2010; Román-Contreras and Romero-Rodríguez 2013; Baeza et al 2018), (2) the observation that immature parasites are found in small hosts only (Van Wyk 1982; Oliveira and Masunari 1998, both for a porcellanids), and (3) small specimens are shown to be more readily infested than large specimens (Anderson 1990, for a carid shrimp). Consequently, swellings should be visible early on in the life of infested decapod hosts and, all else being equal, the proportion of specimens that is infested would remain about the same or decrease due to the adverse effects of parasitism on the host (see above) as host size increases.…”

“…Host gigantism may be (1) a strategy of the parasite because parasite fecundity is positively linked to host size and host survival may perhaps be improved or (2) an adaptation of the host to counterbalance the negative impact of parasitism (Poulin 2011). Parasite fecundity is often positively correlated with some measure of bopyroid parasite size (e.g., Jay 1989; McDermott 2002; Romero-Rodríguez and Román-Contreras 2008; Román-Contreras and Romero-Rodríguez 2013; Cericola and Williams 2015; Baeza et al 2018) or host size (Beck 1980); thus, a larger host would be beneficial to the parasite population. However, not all epicarideans castrate their host and host growth rates are inhibited relative to non-infested specimens for many decapods when the epicaridean becomes mature, perhaps because more energy is diverted to the parasite at that point (O’Brien and Van Wyk 1985, and references; Romero-Rodríguez et al 2016).…”