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Title: Insights on the host associations and geographic distribution of Hymenolepis folkertsi (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae) among rodents across temperate latitudes of North America

Author
item Hoberg, Eric
item MAKARIKOV, A - Russian Academy Of Sciences
item TKACH, V - University Of North Dakota
item MEAGHER, S - Western Illinois University
item NIMS, T.N. - Georgia Perimeter College
item ECKERLIN R.P. - Northern Virginia Community College
item GALBREATH, K - Northern Michigan University

Submitted to: Parasitology Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/6/2016
Publication Date: 9/14/2016
Citation: Hoberg, E.P., Makarikov, A., Tkach, V., Meagher, S., Nims, T., Eckerlin R.P., Galbreath, K.E. 2016. Insights on the host associations and geographic distribution of Hymenolepis folkertsi (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae) among rodents across temperate latitudes of North America. Parasitology Research. 115:4627-4638. doi:10.1007/s00436-016-5255-3.

Interpretive Summary: An understanding of helminth parasite diversity among diverse rodent assemblages across temperate latitudes of North America remain remarkably incomplete. Renewed attention to comprehensive survey and inventory to establish the structure of biodiverse faunas is essential in broadly identifying the outcomes of accelerating change linked to climate warming and anthropogenic forcing. Subsequent to the description of Hymenolepis folkertsi, a tapeworm species in the oldfield mouse, Peromyscus polionotus from Georgia, we collected and recognized additional specimens of of this species in deer mice (Peromyscus) and chipmunks (Tamias spp.) from isolated localities spanning West Virginia/Pennsylvania, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and central Idaho. We demonstrated that geography rather than host association explains the distribution and occurrence of H. folkertsi, and that host colonization between chipmunks and deer mice within regional sites is indicated. Field inventory that revealed these parasite populations substantially alters our understanding of the distribution of diversity, and provides insights about the nature of the complex relationships that serve to determine tapeworm faunas in rodents and more generally in mammals. Knowledge of parasite diversity is a cornerstone in recognizing and documenting disturbance and faunal perturbation at all biogeographic scales from landscapes to regions. Knowledge of ecological and evolutionary processes is fundamental, and necessary for parasitologists, disease ecologists, wildlife and conservation biologists and veterinarians in understanding the controls on parasite distribution over space and time.

Technical Abstract: Synoptic data and an understanding of helminth parasite diversity among diverse rodent assemblages across temperate latitudes of North America remain remarkably incomplete. Renewed attention to comprehensive survey and inventory to establish the structure of biodiverse faunas is essential in identifying the outcomes of accelerating change linked to climate warming and anthropogenic forcing. Subsequent to the description of Hymenolepis folkertsi in the oldfield mouse, Peromyscus polionotus from Georgia, additional specimens of hymenolepidids were collected from multiple species of deer mice (Peromyscus) and chipmunks (Tamias spp.) from disjunct localities spanning West Virginia/Pennsylvania, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and central Idaho. Specimens were largely consistent morphologically with the original description of H. folkertsi. Initial DNA sequence data, from a portion of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1, demonstrated intraspecific variation among 3 apparently geographically isolated populations attributed to H. folkertsi (uncorrected genetic distances of 2.7% (Idaho and Michigan), 2.4% (West Virginia+Pennsylvania and Michigan) and 1.89% (WV+PA and Idaho). Geography rather than host association explains the distribution and occurrence of H. folkertsi, and host colonization between chipmunks and deer mice within regional sites is indicated. Genetic divergence revealed across localities for H. folkertsi suggests historically isolated populations, consistent with extended evolutionary and biogeographic trajectories among hymenolepidids and species of Peromyscus and Tamias in North America. Field inventory that revealed these parasite populations substantially alters our understanding of the distribution of diversity, and provides insights about the nature of the complex relationships that serve to determine cestode faunas in rodents.