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Host traits associated with species roles in parasite sharing networks

Publication ,  Journal Article
Dallas, TA; Han, BA; Nunn, CL; Park, AW; Stephens, PR; Drake, JM
Published in: Oikos
January 1, 2019

The community of host species that a parasite infects is often explained by functional traits and phylogeny, predicting that closely related hosts or those with particular traits share more parasites with other hosts. Previous research has examined parasite community similarity by regressing pairwise parasite community dissimilarity between two host species against host phylogenetic distance. However, pairwise approaches cannot target specific host species responsible for disproportionate levels of parasite sharing. To better identify why some host species contribute differentially to parasite diversity patterns, we represent parasite sharing using ecological networks consisting of host species connected by instances of shared parasitism. These networks can help identify host species and traits associated with high levels of parasite sharing that may subsequently identify important hosts for parasite maintenance and transmission within communities. We used global-scale parasite sharing networks of ungulates, carnivores, and primates to determine if host importance – encapsulated by the network measures degree, closeness, betweenness, and eigenvector centrality – was predictable based on host traits. Our findings suggest that host centrality in parasite sharing networks is a function of host population density and range size, with range size reflecting both species geographic range and the home range of those species. In the full network, host taxonomic family became an important predictor of centrality, suggesting a role for evolutionary relationships between host and parasite species. More broadly, these findings show that trait data predict key properties of ecological networks, thus highlighting a role for species traits in understanding network assembly, stability, and structure.

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Published In

Oikos

DOI

EISSN

1600-0706

ISSN

0030-1299

Publication Date

January 1, 2019

Volume

128

Issue

1

Start / End Page

23 / 32

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0602 Ecology
 

Citation

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Dallas, T. A., Han, B. A., Nunn, C. L., Park, A. W., Stephens, P. R., & Drake, J. M. (2019). Host traits associated with species roles in parasite sharing networks. Oikos, 128(1), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.05602
Dallas, T. A., B. A. Han, C. L. Nunn, A. W. Park, P. R. Stephens, and J. M. Drake. “Host traits associated with species roles in parasite sharing networks.” Oikos 128, no. 1 (January 1, 2019): 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.05602.
Dallas TA, Han BA, Nunn CL, Park AW, Stephens PR, Drake JM. Host traits associated with species roles in parasite sharing networks. Oikos. 2019 Jan 1;128(1):23–32.
Dallas, T. A., et al. “Host traits associated with species roles in parasite sharing networks.” Oikos, vol. 128, no. 1, Jan. 2019, pp. 23–32. Scopus, doi:10.1111/oik.05602.
Dallas TA, Han BA, Nunn CL, Park AW, Stephens PR, Drake JM. Host traits associated with species roles in parasite sharing networks. Oikos. 2019 Jan 1;128(1):23–32.
Journal cover image

Published In

Oikos

DOI

EISSN

1600-0706

ISSN

0030-1299

Publication Date

January 1, 2019

Volume

128

Issue

1

Start / End Page

23 / 32

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0602 Ecology