Spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback
Patterns in parasite community structure are often observed in natural systems and an important question in parasite ecology is whether such patterns are repeatable across time and space. Field studies commonly look at spatial or temporal repeatability of patterns, but they are rarely investigated i...
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| Format: | Article |
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Cambridge University Press
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40108/ |
| _version_ | 1848795986611142656 |
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| author | Young, Rebecca E. MacColl, Andrew D.C. |
| author_facet | Young, Rebecca E. MacColl, Andrew D.C. |
| author_sort | Young, Rebecca E. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Patterns in parasite community structure are often observed in natural systems and an important question in parasite ecology is whether such patterns are repeatable across time and space. Field studies commonly look at spatial or temporal repeatability of patterns, but they are rarely investigated in conjunction. We use a large dataset on the macroparasites of the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., collected from 14 locations on North Uist, Scotland over an 8-year period to investigate: (1) repeatability of patterns in parasite communities among populations and whether variation is consistent across years, (2) whether variation between years can be explained by climatic variation and progression of the season and (3) whether variation in habitat characteristics explain population differences. Differences in relative abundance and prevalence across populations were observed in a number of parasites investigated indicating a lack of consistency across years in numerous parasite community measures; however, differences between populations in the prevalence and abundance of some parasites were consistent throughout the study. Average temperature did not affect parasite community, and progression of the season was only significant for two of 13 community measures. Two of the six habitat characteristics investigated (pH and calcium concentration) significantly affected parasite presence. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:40:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-40108 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:40:48Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-401082020-05-04T18:16:19Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40108/ Spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback Young, Rebecca E. MacColl, Andrew D.C. Patterns in parasite community structure are often observed in natural systems and an important question in parasite ecology is whether such patterns are repeatable across time and space. Field studies commonly look at spatial or temporal repeatability of patterns, but they are rarely investigated in conjunction. We use a large dataset on the macroparasites of the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., collected from 14 locations on North Uist, Scotland over an 8-year period to investigate: (1) repeatability of patterns in parasite communities among populations and whether variation is consistent across years, (2) whether variation between years can be explained by climatic variation and progression of the season and (3) whether variation in habitat characteristics explain population differences. Differences in relative abundance and prevalence across populations were observed in a number of parasites investigated indicating a lack of consistency across years in numerous parasite community measures; however, differences between populations in the prevalence and abundance of some parasites were consistent throughout the study. Average temperature did not affect parasite community, and progression of the season was only significant for two of 13 community measures. Two of the six habitat characteristics investigated (pH and calcium concentration) significantly affected parasite presence. Cambridge University Press 2016-10-20 Article PeerReviewed Young, Rebecca E. and MacColl, Andrew D.C. (2016) Spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback. Parasitology . ISSN 1469-8161 Stickleback Parasite community Repeatability http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0031182016001815 doi:10.1017/S0031182016001815 doi:10.1017/S0031182016001815 |
| spellingShingle | Stickleback Parasite community Repeatability Young, Rebecca E. MacColl, Andrew D.C. Spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback |
| title | Spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback |
| title_full | Spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback |
| title_fullStr | Spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback |
| title_short | Spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback |
| title_sort | spatial and temporal variation in macroparasite communities of three-spined stickleback |
| topic | Stickleback Parasite community Repeatability |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40108/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40108/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40108/ |