Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Ecology of Parasites of Aquatic Organisms

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 14734

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Departamento de Parasitologia Animal, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 23897-000, Brazil
Interests: parasitic biodiversity; molecular phylogeny; animal helminthology; Ichthyoparasitology; zoonoses
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Guest Editor
Laboratório de Parasitologia de Animais Silvestres (LAPAS), Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botocatú, Sao Paulo 18618-687, Brazil
Interests: taxonomy; systematics; fish parasitology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a forthcoming Special Issue of Diversity focused on the taxonomy, biodiversity and ecology of the parasites of aquatic organisms. Parasites are conspicuous components of animal ecosystems, regulating the abundance or density of host populations, stabilizing food webs, and structuring host communities. In the aquatic environment, different groups of hosts and their parasites present huge biodiversity, and are therefore suitable models for studies of taxonomy, systematics, and ecology. It is also important to consider the different pathologies caused by worms and crustaceans in aquatic animals that affect their production and cultivation, and the zoonotic potential of several species of parasites (mainly trematodes and nematodes).

This Special Issue is devoted to a wide range of issues related to the parasites of aquatic organisms, including taxonomy, phylogeny, biogeography, ecology and biodiversity patterns, life cycles, and host–parasite interactions.

Prof. Dr. José Luis Luque
Dr. Philippe Vieira Alves
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • parasites
  • aquatic environment
  • taxonomy
  • biogeography
  • host–parasite interactions

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 480 KiB  
Editorial
Taxonomy, Biodiversity, and Ecology of Parasites of Aquatic Organisms: A Special Issue
by Philippe Vieira Alves and José Luis Luque
Diversity 2024, 16(1), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16010024 - 29 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1052
Abstract
Parasitism is ubiquitous and one of the most successful lifestyles on Earth, with more than 200 independent transitions from non-parasitic ancestors considered only in the kingdom Animalia [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Ecology of Parasites of Aquatic Organisms)
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Research

Jump to: Editorial

13 pages, 6216 KiB  
Article
A Rare Fish Amphistome Revisited: The Phylogenetic Position of Kalitrema kalitrema (Trematoda: Cladorchiidae) Found in Hypostomus spp. (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from Brazil
by Hudson Alves Pinto, Camila Pantoja, Jordana Costa Alves de Assis, Danimar López-Hernández, Fabio Vieira, José Luis Luque and Philippe Vieira Alves
Diversity 2023, 15(10), 1034; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15101034 - 26 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1347
Abstract
Despite recent advances in the molecular knowledge of amphistome trematodes, most genera known from fish remain to be genetically characterized. This is the case for Kalitrema, a genus of the speciose family Cladorchiidae and the type of Kalitrematinae. The type and only [...] Read more.
Despite recent advances in the molecular knowledge of amphistome trematodes, most genera known from fish remain to be genetically characterized. This is the case for Kalitrema, a genus of the speciose family Cladorchiidae and the type of Kalitrematinae. The type and only species of this genus, Kalitrema kalitrema Travassos, 1933, was originally proposed based on two specimens found in an armored suckermouth catfish from Brazil, and its phylogenetic position has not been evaluated. In this study, paramphistomes found in Hypostomus alatus (2/9; 22.2%) and Hypostomus francisci (4/143; 2.8%) from the Paraobepa River (São Francisco River basin), Minas Gerais, Brazil, between December 2019 and November 2021, were subjected to morphological study. The parasites were identified in low intensity of infection [1.2 (1–2)] and redescribed as K. kalitrema. This species exhibits unique features such as a linguiform body with a circular ridge near the anterior end and a deep, median notch present at the posterior extremity of the body, apparently dividing the body into two lobes. A subset of specimens was further subject to phylogenetic analyses based on the most densely sampled markers, the nuclear ribosomal RNA (28S and ITS2) and mitochondrial cox1, which revealed the inclusion of K. kalitrema in a Neotropical clade of fish paramphistomes. The most comprehensive phylogenetic tree, based on the 28S dataset, confirmed K. kalitrema as an independent, early diverging lineage among Neotropical fish cladorchiids. However, the monophyly of Kalitrematinae was not sustained, given that species of the other kalitrematine genera Pseudocladorchis and Iquitostrema included in the phylogenetic analysis fell in a distinct clade with other fish cladorchiids. As a result, we propose here a narrower concept for Kalitrematinae sensu stricto, accommodating only Kalitrema (type genus) until a more natural subfamilial or familial classification is provided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Ecology of Parasites of Aquatic Organisms)
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26 pages, 5512 KiB  
Article
Survivors from a Pliocene Climatic Catastrophe: Gyrodactylus (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea) Parasites of the Relict Fishes in the Central Asian Internal Drainage Basin of Mongolia
by Daria Lebedeva, Marek Ziętara, Bud Mendsaikhan, Alexey Ermolenko and Jaakko Lumme
Diversity 2023, 15(7), 860; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070860 - 16 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1561
Abstract
We investigated the Gyrodactylus ectoparasites on relict fishes in the isolated endorheic Central Asian Internal drainage basin in Mongolia (The Hollow) and placed them into the global phylogenetic framework based on internal transcribed spacer regions of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS). Much of [...] Read more.
We investigated the Gyrodactylus ectoparasites on relict fishes in the isolated endorheic Central Asian Internal drainage basin in Mongolia (The Hollow) and placed them into the global phylogenetic framework based on internal transcribed spacer regions of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS). Much of the rich Pliocene lacustrine ichthyofauna is extinct. We sampled five riverine survivors: Altai osmans Oreoleuciscus humilis and O. potanini (Leuciscidae), Mongolian grayling Thymallus brevirostris (Salmonidae), and stone loaches Barbatula conilobus and B. cobdonensis (Nemacheilidae). We found eight species of the subgenus Gyrodactylus (Limnonephrotus) and four of G. (Gyrodactylus). Nine species were identified as taxa described earlier, and three were described as new. The endemic Mongolian grayling carried four species, only one of wageneri group typical to salmonids (Gyrodactylus radimi sp. nov.), two of nemachili group (G. zavkhanensis sp. nov., G. pseudonemachili Ergens and Bychowsky, 1967), and G. amurensis Akhmerov, 1952 of subgenus G. (Gyrodactylus). G. pseudonemachili was also found on osman and loach. A parasite clade typical for Nemacheilidae was overrepresented by five species (G. tayshirensis sp. nov. on Barbatula conilobus, G. mongolicus Ergens and Dulmaa, 1970, G. nemachili Bychowsky, 1936). Relaxed host specificity mentioned already by Ergens and Dulmaa was evident. In the updated global ITS phylogenies of the two freshwater-restricted subgenera, the parasites from the Mongolian relict populations assumed positions concordant with a hypothesis of multiple ancient introductions from the Euro-Siberian fauna, strong rarefaction and three cases of endemic divergence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Ecology of Parasites of Aquatic Organisms)
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12 pages, 1908 KiB  
Article
Resurrection of Diplostomum numericum Niewiadomska, 1988 (Digenea, Diplostomatoidea: Diplostomidae) Based on Novel Molecular Data from the Type-Host
by Sergey G. Sokolov, Evgeny P. Ieshko and Daria I. Lebedeva
Diversity 2023, 15(7), 840; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070840 - 9 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1055
Abstract
Diplostomum is a taxonomically problematic genus of trematodes, with many members harmful at the metacercarial stage to fish in aquaculture. We found metacercariae in the eye vitreous humor of the rudd, Scardinius erythrophthalmus; the bleak, Alburnus alburnus; and the roach, Rutilus [...] Read more.
Diplostomum is a taxonomically problematic genus of trematodes, with many members harmful at the metacercarial stage to fish in aquaculture. We found metacercariae in the eye vitreous humor of the rudd, Scardinius erythrophthalmus; the bleak, Alburnus alburnus; and the roach, Rutilus rutilus, in Karelia (Russia) and identified them as Diplostomum numericum based on a combination of morphological and ecological data. Previously, D. numericum was thought to be conspecific with Diplostomum gavium. However, our phylogenetic analysis based on the sequences of the cox1 mitochondrial DNA gene did not support this hypothesis. We demonstrated the conspecificity of D. numericum with the larval trematode Diplostomum sp. Lineage 3 of Blasco-Costa et al. (2014) from the eye vitreous humor of European salmonid and cyprinid fishes. Therefore, we resurrected the species D. numericum and identified Diplostomum sp. Lineage 3 of Blasco-Costa et al. (2014) as D. numericum. Finally, we hypothesized that D. numericum was, in fact, conspecific with Diplostomum colymbi and that the latter was distinct from D. gavium sensu stricto. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Ecology of Parasites of Aquatic Organisms)
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22 pages, 9538 KiB  
Article
On the Evolutionary History of Philometridae (Nematoda: Dracunculoidea): Integrative Taxonomy Reveals Evidence of Character Diversification and Host–Parasite Cophylogenetic Patterns
by Lorena Gisela Ailán-Choke, Fabiano Paschoal, João Victor Couto and Felipe Bisaggio Pereira
Diversity 2023, 15(6), 763; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060763 - 10 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1452
Abstract
(1) Background: Integrative taxonomy has been important in the comprehension of relationships among nematode parasites. Philometridae is a highly diverse family of these organisms, but poorly-known regarding genetic characterization and evolution. An integrative taxonomic analysis was performed to improve the knowledge of the [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Integrative taxonomy has been important in the comprehension of relationships among nematode parasites. Philometridae is a highly diverse family of these organisms, but poorly-known regarding genetic characterization and evolution. An integrative taxonomic analysis was performed to improve the knowledge of the evolutionary history of Philometridae. (2) Methods: Phylogenies were reconstructed based on genetic sequences alone and integrated with morphological/life history traits, which were phylogenetically mapped. The host–parasite cophylogeny was evaluated. (3) Results: Previously unpublished 28S rDNA sequences are given for some species. The phylogeny from this marker, although limited by data scarcity, showed similar patterns as that from 18S rDNA. Clades shared common features related to the structure of the esophagus and of the tail in males (especially the gubernaculum), site of infection, habitat, host taxa and geographic origin; most of these features were phylogenetically informative. The integrative phylogeny was better resolved. A cophylogenetic signal was present mainly in clades of freshwater species. (4) Conclusions: The speciation process in Philometridae is not unique or uniform; host capture, host–parasite co-evolution and allopatric (especially in freshwater) events may be occurring simultaneously in different lineages, places and times. Cases of plesiomorphy retention probably occur. Evolutionary convergence of poorly-informative characters is suggested, even though they are important for species diagnosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Ecology of Parasites of Aquatic Organisms)
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16 pages, 5124 KiB  
Article
Two New Species of Encotyllabe (Monogenea: Capsalidae) from Brazil: Morphological and Molecular Evidence
by Naraiana Taborda, Fabiola A. Sepulveda, Jose L. Luque, Rubén Escribano and Marcelo E. Oliva
Diversity 2023, 15(6), 706; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060706 - 25 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1564
Abstract
Currently, 24 species of Encotyllabe Diesing, 1850 (Monogenea: Capsalidae), are recorded as parasites on teleost fishes, but the validity of many species has been questioned due to deficient or incomplete descriptions. Almost all species in the genus have been described from one host [...] Read more.
Currently, 24 species of Encotyllabe Diesing, 1850 (Monogenea: Capsalidae), are recorded as parasites on teleost fishes, but the validity of many species has been questioned due to deficient or incomplete descriptions. Almost all species in the genus have been described from one host species or closely related host species, suggesting host specificity, but some species, specifically Encotyllabe spari Yamaguti, 1934, have been reported from at least 19 species belonging to nine families in two orders (Perciformes and Scorpaeniformes) from Japan, Arabian Gulf and Brazil. Concerning Brazilian records of Encotyllabe spari and Encotyllabe cf. spari, seven species belonging to four families and two orders have been reported as hosts for this species. The aim of this study was to describe two new species of Encotyllabe from Brazil, previously considered as E. spari. Morphological and morphometric (multivariate analysis of proportional measurements standardized by total length) and molecular analysis (LSU rRNA and cox1 gene) were performed in order to identify the collected monogeneans. The description of two new species, namely Encotyllabe bifurcatum n. sp. and Encotyllabe parvum n. sp., parasitizing Pagrus pagrus and Orthopristis ruber, respectively, is the result of the three approaches. The main morphological differences from the most related species include a combination of body size, shape of the male copulatory organ, size and position of the testes. Our results suggest host specificity for members of Encotyllabe and specimens previously recorded as E. spari, other than those from the original description, must be revisited. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Ecology of Parasites of Aquatic Organisms)
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16 pages, 2326 KiB  
Article
Acanthocephalan Diversity and Host Associations Revealed from a Large-Scale Biodiversity Survey
by Jerusha Bennett, Robert Poulin and Bronwen Presswell
Diversity 2023, 15(5), 665; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15050665 - 14 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1865
Abstract
Acanthocephalans constitute a relatively small phylum of dioecious helminths that infect invertebrate intermediate and vertebrate paratenic and definitive hosts. Like most parasites, acanthocephalans are usually overlooked in biodiversity studies, although they can have significant impacts on their host’s health and the structure of [...] Read more.
Acanthocephalans constitute a relatively small phylum of dioecious helminths that infect invertebrate intermediate and vertebrate paratenic and definitive hosts. Like most parasites, acanthocephalans are usually overlooked in biodiversity studies, although they can have significant impacts on their host’s health and the structure of surrounding communities. In this study, we present morphological and molecular data from an extensive biodiversity survey of acanthocephalans infecting a range of marine animals in a coastal marine ecosystem in New Zealand. We recovered 13 acanthocephalan species infecting 32 of the 168 free-living animal species investigated, 1 of which is a new geographic record for New Zealand (Gorgorhynchoides queenslandensis), 9 of which constitute new host records, and at least 2 that are species new to science. The data presented here provide a baseline dataset to which future assessments of changes in diversity and distribution of acanthocephalans can be compared. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Ecology of Parasites of Aquatic Organisms)
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26 pages, 18611 KiB  
Article
Hemogregarine Diversity Infecting Brazilian Turtles with a Description of Six New Species of Haemogregarina (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina: Haemogregarinidae)
by Letícia Pereira Úngari, André Luiz Quagliatto Santos, Reinaldo José da Silva and Lucia Helena O’Dwyer
Diversity 2023, 15(2), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020296 - 17 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2799
Abstract
(1) Background: Hemoparasites of the genus Haemogregarina (Haemogregarinidae) are commonly reported in freshwater turtles. However, in Brazil, only three species have currently been characterised using molecular methods. This study aimed to bring new insights on the diversity of species of Haemogregarina infecting Brazilian [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Hemoparasites of the genus Haemogregarina (Haemogregarinidae) are commonly reported in freshwater turtles. However, in Brazil, only three species have currently been characterised using molecular methods. This study aimed to bring new insights on the diversity of species of Haemogregarina infecting Brazilian freshwater turtles from Mato Grosso and Goiás states using molecular and morphological tools. (2) Methods: In total, 2 mL of blood was collected, with between two to five blood smears prepared, fixed with absolute methanol, and stained with a 10% Giemsa solution. Blood was stored at −20 °C for molecular analysis targeting the 18S rRNA gene. Fragments of the organs (liver, spleen, heart, and kidney) were separated and stained with hematoxylin-eosin. (3) Results: A total of 40 turtles were screened and hemogregarines were observed in 34 (85%) individuals (3 Podocnemis expansa and 31 Podocnemis unifilis). Haemogregarina embaubali and six new species of Haemogregarina were observed and formally described as follows: H. unifila n. sp., H. rubra n. sp., H. goianensis n. sp., H. araguaiensis n. sp., H. tigrina n. sp., and H. brasiliana n. sp. (4) Conclusions: This study contributes to the diversity and knowledge of Brazilian fresh-water turtle blood parasites, using integrative approaches for diagnosing and characterizing hemoparasites, with the identification of six undescribed species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Ecology of Parasites of Aquatic Organisms)
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