Examination of Parasite Assemblages in Killifish of the Genus Fundulus Across the Atlantic Coast of the United States and Canada
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Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations HCNSO Student Work 4-30-2020 Examination of Parasite Assemblages in Killifish of the Genus Fundulus Across the Atlantic Coast of the United States and Canada Derek Garvey Nova Southeastern University Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd Part of the Marine Biology Commons, and the Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons Share Feedback About This Item This Thesis has supplementary content. View the full record on NSUWorks here: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/532 NSUWorks Citation Derek Garvey. 2020. Examination of Parasite Assemblages in Killifish of the Genus undulusF Across the Atlantic Coast of the United States and Canada. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, . (532) https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/532. This Thesis is brought to you by the HCNSO Student Work at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thesis of Derek Garvey Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science M.S. Marine Biology Nova Southeastern University Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography April 2020 Approved: Thesis Committee Major Professor: David W. Kerstetter, Ph.D. Committee Member: Christopher A. Blanar, Ph.D. Committee Member: Elizabeth M. Warburton, Ph.D. This thesis is available at NSUWorks: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/532 HALMOS COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND OCEANOGRAPHY Examination of Parasite Assemblages in Killifish of the Genus Fundulus Across the Atlantic Coast of the United States and Canada By Derek Garvey Submitted to the Faculty of Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science with a specialty in: Marine Biology Nova Southeastern University June 2020 1 Abstract: Killifish of the genus Fundulus were examined to assess the factors shaping parasite community structure at a genus level. A database of previous parasite surveys on Fundulus species across the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada was created from a literature review. The database included parasite and environmental factor data from 15 sources. Additional sites from New Brunswick, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and South Carolina were sampled for Fundulus species. The resulting database includes data for 10 species from a total of 57 unique geographic sites. Data on the diversity and abundance of metazoan parasites were gathered through laboratory analysis and added to the dataset. Univariate analysis of observed parasite species richness among Fundulus populations in the data set found that latitude (R2 = 0.112, P = 0.011), climate type (R2 = 0.158, P = 0.027), and salinity classification (R2 = 0.223, p = 0.001) were the dominant factors determining parasite species richness. Multivariate analysis found that host species (R= 0.539, P = 0.001) was the most important factor in determining the similarity of parasite assemblages. Within the Fundulus genus, parasite species richness was found to decrease in low latitudes and host phylogeny was not found to be a significant factor in the similarity of parasite communities. Taken together, these results indicate that commonly reported large-scale drivers of parasite community structure, such as latitude and phylogeny, may have diminished significance at the host genus level relative to host ecology and biogeography. Keywords: Killifish, Topminnows, Fundulus, Parasites, Community Structure, Assemblages, Similarity, Phylogeny, Ecology, Biogeography 2 Acknowledgments: I want to thank my committee members: Dr. David Kerstetter, Dr. Christopher Blanar, and Dr. Elizabeth Warburton for all their guidance in support of me and this project. Conducting research with you has been an invaluable experience for me to learn and grow as a scientist. Many thanks to everyone who assisted in the collection of samples for this project including: Dr. Quentin Walker, Dr. Daniel Abel, Bruce Pfirrmann, Matt Kimball, and Ryan McGonagle. My appreciation goes out to Dr. Rita Grunberg, Rachel Tonia, and the countless other past researchers of Fundulus parasites, whose work this project stands upon. A special thanks to Dr. Christopher Blanar for teaching me the art of parasite identification. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my parents and my brothers, who have always shown me endless support. Funding for this project was provided by the Nova Southeastern University President's Faculty Research and Development Grant. 3 Table of Contents: Introduction: .................................................................................................................................................. 8 Parasite Assemblages: .............................................................................................................................. 8 Host Phylogeny: ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Parasite Biogeography: ............................................................................................................................ 9 Parasite Ecology: .................................................................................................................................... 11 Genus Fundulus: ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Trematodes: ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Monogeneans: ......................................................................................................................................... 16 Cestodes: ................................................................................................................................................. 17 Nematodes: ............................................................................................................................................. 18 Acanthocephalans: .................................................................................................................................. 19 Crustaceans: ........................................................................................................................................... 19 Annelids: ................................................................................................................................................. 21 Mollusks: ................................................................................................................................................. 21 Applications of Parasite Community Study: ........................................................................................... 22 Objectives: .................................................................................................................................................. 22 Materials and Methods: ............................................................................................................................... 22 Literature Review: .................................................................................................................................. 22 Sample Collection: .................................................................................................................................. 23 Laboratory Processing: .......................................................................................................................... 24 Data Analysis: ......................................................................................................................................... 25 Results: ........................................................................................................................................................ 27 Discussion: .................................................................................................................................................. 57 Conclusion: ................................................................................................................................................. 63 References: .................................................................................................................................................. 64 Appendix: Fundulus Parasite Surveys ........................................................................................................ 69 4 List of Figures: Figure 1: Geographic range of sites ............................................................................................................ 30 Figure 2: Records by land type, salinity, and climate. ................................................................................ 34 Figure 3: Records by Fundulus species ...................................................................................................... 35 Figure 4: Observed parasite taxa ................................................................................................................. 36 Figure 5: Observed parasite genera frequency. ........................................................................................... 37 Figure 6: Observed parasite class