Worms of change: anthropogenic disturbance changes the ectoparasite community structure of Lake Victoria cichlids

Abstract

Host-parasite interactions increase the complexity, and thus robustness and resilience, of an ecosystem. This role is particularly relevant in global change times. Environmental changes cause biodiversity loss and shifts in community compositions of free-living organisms, but how these changes affect parasite communities is still unclear. We tested how parasites respond to anthropogenic perturbations, using the Lake Victoria case (East Africa), after 40 years of their onset. Lake Victoria experienced multiple human-induced invasions (e.g. Nile perch), eutrophication, which heavily affected haplochromine cichlid fishes (whose species richness decreased from 500 to 250 species in a decade). We compared gill macroparasite communities of 13 haplochromine species before and after perturbations, using historical and recent fish collections. The host-parasite network rearranged in a way that buffers the impact of perturbations, indicating resilience. However, the host range of parasites, which is linked to resilience ability, decreased and thus we expect a decreased resilience ability in the future. We also found a decrease in infection parameters, co-infection occurrence, and biodiversity indices highlighting the urgent need of a conservation plan for wildlife parasites, to preserve their ecosystem services in face of global change. This study serves as a proof-of-concept of how often overlooked aspects of host-parasite interactions provide a tool to monitor the health status of an ecosystem.