Fish as parasites: an insight into evolutionary convergence in adaptations for parasitism

The first record of egg masses in tunicates deposited by the snubnose sculpin, Orthonopias triacis, from the Northeastern Pacific: evidence for convergent evolution of an unusual reproductive strategy

In this study, the authors report the first record of egg masses deposited in solitary tunicates by the snubnose sculpin, Orthonopias triacis, from the Northeastern Pacific. Four egg masses were discovered in the tunicate Ascidia ceratodes that were genetically determined to be O. triacis. Female O. triacis had long ovipositors that allow deposition of their eggs inside the atrium of the tunicates. A comparison of host-tunicate size with ovipositor length of sculpins from the Northwestern Pacific, including the genera Furcina and Pseudoblennius, revealed that O. triacis had shorter ovipositors and spawned in the atrium of smaller species of tunicates. Ancestral state reconstruction of egg deposition in solitary tunicates using 1.86Mbp RNAseq data of 20 sculpin species from Northeastern and Northwestern Pacific revealed that this unusual spawning behaviour may have evolved convergently in different species occurring in the Northeastern vs. the Northwestern Pacific.

Risk-Induced Trait Responses and Non-consumptive Effects in Plants and Animals in Response to Their Invertebrate Herbivore and Parasite Natural Enemies

Predators kill and consume prey, but also scare living prey. Fitness of prey can be reduced by direct killing and consumption, but also by non-consumptive effects (NCEs) if prey show costly risk-induced trait responses (RITRs) to predators, which are meant to reduce predation risk. Recently, similarities between predators and parasites as natural enemies have been recognized, including their potential to cause victim RITRs and NCEs. However, plant-herbivore and animal host-parasite associations might be more comparable as victim-enemy systems in this context than either is to prey-predator systems. This is because plant herbivores and animal parasites are often invertebrate species that are typically smaller than their victims, generally cause lower lethality, and allow for further defensive responses by victims after consumption begins. Invertebrate herbivores can cause diverse RITRs in plants through various means, and animals also exhibit assorted RITRs to increased parasitism risk. This synthesis aims to broadly compare these two enemy-victim systems by highlighting the ways in which plants and animals perceive threat and respond with a range of induced victim trait responses that can provide pre-emptive defense against invertebrate enemies. We also review evidence that RITRs are costly in terms of reducing victim fitness or abundance, demonstrating how work with one victim-enemy system can inform the other with respect to the frequency and magnitude of RITRs and possible NCEs. We particularly highlight gaps in our knowledge about plant and animal host responses to their invertebrate enemies that may guide directions for future research. Comparing how potential plant and animal victims respond pre-emptively to the threat of consumption via RITRs will help to advance our understanding of natural enemy ecology and may have utility for pest and disease control.

Redescription of Ochmacanthus batrachostoma (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1912) (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae): a possible case of incipient paedomorphism

ABSTRACT The lepidophagous stegophiline catfish Ochmacanthus batrachostoma (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1912) is endemic to the Paraná-Paraguai basin and is the only member of its genus in that drainage. It remains a poorly-known taxon mainly due to the historical scarcity of study specimens. The species is herein redescribed on the basis of type and non-type specimens from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Ochmacanthus batrachostoma can be distinguished from congeners by the presence of long maxillary and rictal barbels, reduction of the posterior end of the caudal peduncle, a tadpole-like caudal fin and peduncle, among other morphometric traits and features of internal anatomy. Comparisons show that a number of unique traits of adult O. batrachostoma resemble conditions seen in juvenile specimens of other members of Stegophilinae. Such traits are also more pronounced in juveniles of O. batrachostoma itself. The species also has the smallest maximum body size in Ochmacanthus and among the smallest of any stegophiline. In combination, such observations suggest that the species is paedomorphic, although to a degree less extreme than seen in some other trichomycterids. This is the first possible case of paedomorphosis identified for stegophilines.