Species depauperate communities and low abundances of monogenean gill parasites at the edge of the natural distribution range of their cichlid hosts in northern Africa

Louizi, Halima; Vanhove, Maarten Pieterjan; Rahmouni, Imane; Rkhami, Ouafae Berrada; Benhoussa, Abdelaziz; Steenberge, Maarten Van; Pariselle, Antoine

doi:10.1007/s10750-022-05031-3

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The current study's low number of gyrodactylids isolated from cyprinid hosts could be due to the fact that only the gills were examined for parasites. Similarly, Louizi et al [46] found a species depauperate fauna and low abundances of gill-infecting monogeneans on native cichlid fishes in Morocco. In addition to the low prevalence and possible seasonality of members of Gyrodactylus, less research, a lack of reports on infections, a lack of understanding of relationships between these monogeneans and cyprinid hosts [14], and environmental conditions in Morocco's freshwater ecosystems might limit the species richness and abundance of certain monogenean taxa.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

First Study on Gyrodactylus (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) in Morocco, with Description of a New Species from Luciobarbus pallaryi and Luciobarbus ksibi (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae)

Shigoley

Rahmouni

Louizi

et al. 2023

Animals

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To date, 41 species of Gyrodactylus have been described from Africa. However, none of these have been reported in Morocco. After identifying and examining 738 cyprinid host specimens, 26 specimens belonging to Gyrodactylus were found to parasitize the gills of nine species of Luciobarbus, Carasobarbus, and Pterocapoeta. The current study provides new information about the presence of a new parasitic species in Morocco, the first to be characterized on a species level in the Maghreb region. It describes in detail 12 specimens of Gyrodactylus isolated from the gills of Luciobarbus pallaryi (Pellegrin, 1919) and Luciobarbus ksibi (Boulenger, 1905). Based on morphoanatomical observations, the characterization of the specimens collected indicates a species of Gyrodactylus that is new to science, described here as Gyrodactylus nyingiae n. sp. The new species is different from previously described gyrodactylids infecting African cyprinid hosts because it has a longer hamulus total length, a longer hamulus root, a downward projecting toe of the marginal hook, and a trapezium-shaped ventral bar membrane with a slightly striated median portion and small rounded anterolateral processes. This study increases the total number of Gyrodactylus spp. found in African cyprinids to four.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

First Study on Gyrodactylus (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) in Morocco, with Description of a New Species from Luciobarbus pallaryi and Luciobarbus ksibi (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae)

Shigoley

Rahmouni

Louizi

et al. 2023

Animals

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“…In addition to the low prevalence and possible seasonality of members of Gyrodactylus, less research, a lack of reports on infections, and a lack of understanding of relationships between these monogeneans and cyprinid hosts [12], the current study's low number of gyrodactylids isolated from cyprinid hosts could be due to the fact that only the gills were examined for parasites. However, on native cichlid fishes in Morocco, [34] also found a species depauperate fauna and low abundances of gill-infecting dactylogyrids: hence, we cannot exclude that environmental conditions in Morocco's freshwater ecosystems limit the species richness and abundance of certain monogenean taxa. On the other hand, Dactylogyrus reaches higher species richness and higher infection intensities on Moroccan cyprinid-monogenean systems [4,35] More research is needed in the African continent to understand the relationship, evolutionary history, and development of gyrodactylids and their hosts, as it is endowed with a diverse endemic fish fauna that undoubtedly harbors undiscovered parasite diversity [36,37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

First Study on Gyrodactylus (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) in Morocco, with Description of a New Species from Cyprinids (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae)

Shigoley¹,

Rahmouni²,

Louizi³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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To date, 41 species of Gyrodactylus have been described from Africa. However, none of these have been reported in Morocco. After identifying and examining 738 cyprinid host specimens, 26 specimens belonging to Gyrodactylus were found to parasitize the gills of nine species of Luciobarbus, Carasobarbus, and Pterocapoeta. The current study describes in detail 12 specimens of Gyrodactylus isolated from the gills of Luciobarbus pallaryi (Pellegrin, 1919) and Luciobarbus ksibi (Boulenger, 1905). Based on morphoanatomical observations, the characterization of the specimens collected suggests a species of Gyrodactylus new to science, described here as Gyrodactylus nyingiae n. sp. The new species is different from previously described gyrodactylids infecting African cyprinid hosts because it has a longer hamulus total length, a longer hamulus root, a downward projecting toe, a trapezium shaped ventral bar membrane with slightly striated median portion and small rounded anterolateral processes. This study brings the total number of Gyrodactylus spp. found in African cyprinids to four.

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“…A similar case has been reported for C. cirratus Paperna, 1964, where a thin transparent structure in the MCO varies considerably. This variation was initially associated with the position of the worm on the slide [132], but recent evidence suggests the presence of three distinct morphotypes [60]. For C. ophioglossa n.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

All Quiet on the Western Front? The evolutionary history of monogeneans (Dactylogyridae:Cichlidogyrus, Onchobdella) infecting a West and Central African tribe of cichlid fishes (Chromidotilapiini)

Moons

Kmentová

Pariselle

et al. 2023

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Owing to the largely unexplored diversity of metazoan parasites, their speciation mechanisms and the circumstances under which such speciation occurs--in allopatry or sympatry--remain vastly understudied. Cichlids and their monogenean flatworm parasites have previously served as study system for macroevolutionary processes, e.g. for the role of East African host radiations on parasite communities. Here, we investigate the diversity and evolution of the poorly explored monogeneans infecting a West and Central African lineage of cichlid fishes: Chromidotilapiini Greenwood, 1987, which is the most species-rich tribe of cichlids in this region. We screened gills of 149 host specimens (27 species) from natural history collections and measured systematically informative characters of the sclerotised attachment and reproductive organs of the parasites. Ten monogenean species (Dactylogyridae: Cichlidogyrus and Onchobdella) were found, eight of which are described and one redescribed herein. The phylogenetic positions of chromidotilapiines-infecting species of Cichlidogyrus were inferred through a parsimony analysis of the morphological characters. Furthermore, we employed machine learning algorithms to detect morphological features associated with the main lineages of Cichlidogyrus. Although the results of these experimental algorithms remain inconclusive, the parsimony analysis indicates that West and Central African lineages of Cichlidogyrus and Onchobdella are monophyletic, unlike the paraphyletic host lineages. Several instances of host sharing suggest occurrences of intra-host speciation (sympatry) and host switching (allopatry). Some morphological variation was recorded that may also indicate the presence of species complexes. We conclude that collection material can provide important insights on parasite evolution despite the lack of well-preserved DNA material.

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Species depauperate communities and low abundances of monogenean gill parasites at the edge of the natural distribution range of their cichlid hosts in northern Africa

Cited by 6 publications

References 41 publications

First Study on Gyrodactylus (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) in Morocco, with Description of a New Species from Luciobarbus pallaryi and Luciobarbus ksibi (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae)

First Study on Gyrodactylus (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) in Morocco, with Description of a New Species from Luciobarbus pallaryi and Luciobarbus ksibi (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae)

First Study on Gyrodactylus (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) in Morocco, with Description of a New Species from Cyprinids (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae)

All Quiet on the Western Front? The evolutionary history of monogeneans (Dactylogyridae:Cichlidogyrus, Onchobdella) infecting a West and Central African tribe of cichlid fishes (Chromidotilapiini)

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