Lizard host abundances and climatic factors explain phylogenetic diversity and prevalence of blood parasites on an oceanic island.
Mol Ecol
; 33(5): e17276, 2024 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38243603
ABSTRACT
Host abundance might favour the maintenance of a high phylogenetic diversity of some parasites via rapid transmission rates. Blood parasites of insular lizards represent a good model to test this hypothesis because these parasites can be particularly prevalent in islands and host lizards highly abundant. We applied deep amplicon sequencing and analysed environmental predictors of blood parasite prevalence and phylogenetic diversity in the endemic lizard Gallotia galloti across 24 localities on Tenerife, an island in the Canary archipelago that has experienced increasing warming and drought in recent years. Parasite prevalence assessed by microscopy was over 94%, and a higher proportion of infected lizards was found in warmer and drier locations. A total of 33 different 18s rRNA parasite haplotypes were identified, and the phylogenetic analyses indicated that they belong to two genera of Adeleorina (Apicomplexa Coccidia), with Karyolysus as the dominant genus. The most important predictor of between-locality variation in parasite phylogenetic diversity was the abundance of lizard hosts. We conclude that a combination of climatic and host demographic factors associated with an insular syndrome may be favouring a rapid transmission of blood parasites among lizards on Tenerife, which may favour the maintenance of a high phylogenetic diversity of parasites.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Parasitos
/
Apicomplexa
/
Lagartos
Tipo de estudo:
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mol Ecol
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Espanha
País de publicação:
Reino Unido