Climate influences parasite-mediated competitive release

Martin H. Larsen, Kurt Thomas Jensen, Kim Nørgaard Mouritsen

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Parasitism is believed to play an important role in maintaining species diversity, for instance by facilitating coexistence between competing host species. However, the possibility that environmental factors may govern the outcome of parasite-mediated competition has rarely been considered. The closely related amphipods Corophium volutator and Corophium arenarium both serve as second intermediate host for detrimental trematodes. Corophium volutator is the superior competitor of the two, but also suffers from higher mortality when exposed to infective trematode stages. Here, we report parasite-mediated competitive release of C. arenarium in an intertidal habitat, in part triggered by unusually high temperatures linked to the North Atlantic climate oscillation (NAO). The elevated temperatures accelerated the transmission of cercariae from sympatric first intermediate hosts (mud snails) to amphipods, causing a local collapse of the parasite-sensitive C. volutator population and concordant increase in the abundance of the competitively inferior C. arenarium.
Original languageEnglish
JournalParasitology
Volume138
Issue number11
Pages (from-to)1436-1441
ISSN0031-1820
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Wadden Sea North Sea, North East Atlantic, North Atlantic Atlantic Ocean
  • climate forcing
  • competitive release
  • intertidal habitat
  • North Atlantic climate oscillation
  • sea temperature
  • species abundance
  • species coexistence
  • Crustacea Arthropoda Invertebrata Animalia (Animals, Arthropods, Crustaceans, Invertebrates) - Malacostraca [75112] amphipod common host Corophium volutator species host Corophium arenarium species host
  • Mollusca Invertebrata Animalia (Animals, Invertebrates, Mollusks) - Gastropoda [61200] Hydrobia ulvae species host
  • Platyhelminthes Helminthes Invertebrata Animalia (Animals, Helminths, Invertebrates, Platyhelminths) - Trematoda [45200] cercariae common larva parasite
  • 07504, Ecology: environmental biology - Bioclimatology and biometeorology
  • 07508, Ecology: environmental biology - Animal
  • 07512, Ecology: environmental biology - Oceanography
  • 25502, Development and Embryology - General and descriptive
  • 64010, Invertebrata: comparative, experimental morphology, physiology and pathology - Platyhelminthes
  • 64026, Invertebrata: comparative, experimental morphology, physiology and pathology - Mollusca
  • 64054, Invertebrata:comparative, experimental morphology, physiology and pathology - Arthropoda: crustacea
  • Ecology, Environmental Sciences
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Climatology
  • Marine Ecology

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