High levels of inbreeding with spatial and host-associated structure in
lice of an endangered freshwater seal
Abstract
Host-specialist parasites of endangered large vertebrates are in many
cases more endangered than their hosts. In particular, low population
densities and reduced among-host transmission rates are expected to lead
to inbreeding within parasite infrapopulations living on single host
individuals. Furthermore, spatial population structures of
directly-transmitted parasites should be concordant with those of their
hosts. Using population genomic approaches, we investigated inbreeding
and population structure in a host-specialist seal louse
(Echinophthirius horridus) infesting the Saimaa ringed seal (Phoca
hispida saimensis), which is endemic to Lake Saimaa in Finland, and is
one of the most endangered pinnipeds in the world. We conducted genome
resequencing of pairs of lice collected from 18 individual Saimaa ringed
seals throughout the Lake Saimaa complex. Our analyses showed high
genetic similarity and inbreeding between lice inhabiting the same
individual seal host, indicating low among-host transmission rates.
Across the lake, genetic differentiation among individual lice was
correlated with their geographic distance, and assignment analyses
revealed a marked break in the genetic variation of the lice in the
middle of the lake, indicating substantial population structure. These
findings indicate that movements of Saimaa ringed seals across the main
breeding areas of the fragmented Lake Saimaa complex may in fact be more
restricted than suggested by previous population-genetic analyses of the
seals themselves.