Using parasite communities to discriminate between sympatric morphs of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in lake Þingvallavatn, Iceland
Fish in lake systems can undergo adaptive radiation when different groups within a species occupy distinct parts of the lake, reducing competition between them and leading to resource-based polymorphism. This enables the morphs to specialize within their habitats, giving rise to rapid divergence, bo...
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1946/44485 |
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ftskemman:oai:skemman.is:1946/44485 2023-06-11T04:13:13+02:00 Using parasite communities to discriminate between sympatric morphs of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in lake Þingvallavatn, Iceland Guðrún Ósk Sæmundsdóttir 1990- Háskóli Íslands 2023-05 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1946/44485 en eng http://hdl.handle.net/1946/44485 Líffræði Thesis Bachelor's 2023 ftskemman 2023-05-31T22:53:10Z Fish in lake systems can undergo adaptive radiation when different groups within a species occupy distinct parts of the lake, reducing competition between them and leading to resource-based polymorphism. This enables the morphs to specialize within their habitats, giving rise to rapid divergence, both morphological and genetical, sometimes eventually resulting in reproductive isolation and sympatric speciation. The threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a good example of this phenomenon, where different morphs exhibit morphological variations that reflect environmental factors like predation pressure and diet. This study explores the potential of parasites as indicators of ecotype differentiation. Fish of three ecotypes of threespine sticklebacks from lake Þingvallavatn (lava, mud and deep-water) were examined for parasites and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) employed to assign hosts to their respective habitats. The results give high accuracy in distinguishing deep-water morphs from lava and mud morphs but less distinction between the latter. Notably, a depth-dependent profile in parasitic infection is observed rather than temperature, with ectoparasitic monogeneans (Gyrodactylus sp.) having the most significant impact, indicating that depth might be a bigger factor than temperature in shaping the parasite communities. These findings suggest that variations in parasite loads can serve as indicators for distinguishing between sticklebacks from different environmental conditions and emphasizes the importance of including all parasites. The implications of this study extend beyond lake Þingvallavatn and threespine sticklebacks and could be extrapolated to other freshwater or marine systems as well as various fish host species. Meðal fiska í ferskvatni er þekkt að mismunandi afbrigði þróast innan tegundar þegar hópar aðlagast ákveðnum vistum innan vatnsins, sem leiðir til minni samkeppni á milli þeirra. Þetta getur leitt til sérhæfingar sem birtist í svipfars- og erfðabreytileika, sem og ... Bachelor Thesis Iceland Þingvallavatn Skemman (Iceland) Þingvallavatn ENVELOPE(-21.150,-21.150,64.183,64.183) |
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English |
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Líffræði |
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Líffræði Guðrún Ósk Sæmundsdóttir 1990- Using parasite communities to discriminate between sympatric morphs of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in lake Þingvallavatn, Iceland |
topic_facet |
Líffræði |
description |
Fish in lake systems can undergo adaptive radiation when different groups within a species occupy distinct parts of the lake, reducing competition between them and leading to resource-based polymorphism. This enables the morphs to specialize within their habitats, giving rise to rapid divergence, both morphological and genetical, sometimes eventually resulting in reproductive isolation and sympatric speciation. The threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a good example of this phenomenon, where different morphs exhibit morphological variations that reflect environmental factors like predation pressure and diet. This study explores the potential of parasites as indicators of ecotype differentiation. Fish of three ecotypes of threespine sticklebacks from lake Þingvallavatn (lava, mud and deep-water) were examined for parasites and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) employed to assign hosts to their respective habitats. The results give high accuracy in distinguishing deep-water morphs from lava and mud morphs but less distinction between the latter. Notably, a depth-dependent profile in parasitic infection is observed rather than temperature, with ectoparasitic monogeneans (Gyrodactylus sp.) having the most significant impact, indicating that depth might be a bigger factor than temperature in shaping the parasite communities. These findings suggest that variations in parasite loads can serve as indicators for distinguishing between sticklebacks from different environmental conditions and emphasizes the importance of including all parasites. The implications of this study extend beyond lake Þingvallavatn and threespine sticklebacks and could be extrapolated to other freshwater or marine systems as well as various fish host species. Meðal fiska í ferskvatni er þekkt að mismunandi afbrigði þróast innan tegundar þegar hópar aðlagast ákveðnum vistum innan vatnsins, sem leiðir til minni samkeppni á milli þeirra. Þetta getur leitt til sérhæfingar sem birtist í svipfars- og erfðabreytileika, sem og ... |
author2 |
Háskóli Íslands |
format |
Bachelor Thesis |
author |
Guðrún Ósk Sæmundsdóttir 1990- |
author_facet |
Guðrún Ósk Sæmundsdóttir 1990- |
author_sort |
Guðrún Ósk Sæmundsdóttir 1990- |
title |
Using parasite communities to discriminate between sympatric morphs of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in lake Þingvallavatn, Iceland |
title_short |
Using parasite communities to discriminate between sympatric morphs of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in lake Þingvallavatn, Iceland |
title_full |
Using parasite communities to discriminate between sympatric morphs of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in lake Þingvallavatn, Iceland |
title_fullStr |
Using parasite communities to discriminate between sympatric morphs of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in lake Þingvallavatn, Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Using parasite communities to discriminate between sympatric morphs of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in lake Þingvallavatn, Iceland |
title_sort |
using parasite communities to discriminate between sympatric morphs of threespine sticklebacks (gasterosteus aculeatus) in lake þingvallavatn, iceland |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1946/44485 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-21.150,-21.150,64.183,64.183) |
geographic |
Þingvallavatn |
geographic_facet |
Þingvallavatn |
genre |
Iceland Þingvallavatn |
genre_facet |
Iceland Þingvallavatn |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/1946/44485 |
_version_ |
1768389972359905280 |