Phylogeography of Pennella (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) indicates interoceanic dispersal mediated by cetacean and fish hosts
Copepods of the genus Pennella parasitize a wide range of marine animals, including cetaceans, teleosts, and cephalopods worldwide. Their taxonomy is unclear, as there is incongruence between morphological and genetic data and incomplete species coverage. This study provides new morphological and ge...
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Cambridge University Press
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Parasitology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0031182025000101/type/journal_article |
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| author | Sofía Ten Rachel Vanessa Pool Juan Antonio Raga Andrew D. Sweet Francisco Javier Aznar |
| author_facet | Sofía Ten Rachel Vanessa Pool Juan Antonio Raga Andrew D. Sweet Francisco Javier Aznar |
| author_sort | Sofía Ten |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Copepods of the genus Pennella parasitize a wide range of marine animals, including cetaceans, teleosts, and cephalopods worldwide. Their taxonomy is unclear, as there is incongruence between morphological and genetic data and incomplete species coverage. This study provides new morphological and genetic (COI) data from 23 specimens of Pennella cf. filosa (syn. P. balaenoptera) from western Mediterranean whales and a swordfish. First, their position in the phylogeny of Pennella was assessed and species delimitation revisited using all available Pennella COI sequences (n = 189), obtained from Mediterranean and north Pacific specimens from 18 host species (including multiple cetaceans and teleosts). Second, it was investigated whether the geographic location, degree of host vagility, or host taxonomic identity help explain genetic differentiation. Five distinct haplotype groups with varying genetic divergence were distinguished. Although the presence of sibling species cannot be ruled out, species delimitation methods could not find interspecific genetic differences, leaving the taxonomy of the genus unresolved. The observed genetic differentiation could not be attributed to geography or host type. This suggests that members of the genus Pennella show low specificity for definitive hosts and interoceanic dispersal mediated by some vagile definitive hosts. The use of more genetic markers for addressing these questions in the future is encouraged. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6fd3cbcdc6fa418bbd3b004b8bd5f7c7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0031-1820 1469-8161 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Parasitology |
| spelling | doaj-art-6fd3cbcdc6fa418bbd3b004b8bd5f7c72025-08-20T03:07:05ZengCambridge University PressParasitology0031-18201469-81612025-02-0115219520410.1017/S0031182025000101Phylogeography of Pennella (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) indicates interoceanic dispersal mediated by cetacean and fish hostsSofía Ten0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7284-6916Rachel Vanessa Pool1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9594-102XJuan Antonio Raga2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2687-2539Andrew D. Sweet3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2765-7021Francisco Javier Aznar4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1316-1175Marine Zoology Unit, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Valencia, SpainMarine Zoology Unit, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Valencia, SpainMarine Zoology Unit, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Valencia, SpainDepartment of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR, USAMarine Zoology Unit, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Paterna, Valencia, SpainCopepods of the genus Pennella parasitize a wide range of marine animals, including cetaceans, teleosts, and cephalopods worldwide. Their taxonomy is unclear, as there is incongruence between morphological and genetic data and incomplete species coverage. This study provides new morphological and genetic (COI) data from 23 specimens of Pennella cf. filosa (syn. P. balaenoptera) from western Mediterranean whales and a swordfish. First, their position in the phylogeny of Pennella was assessed and species delimitation revisited using all available Pennella COI sequences (n = 189), obtained from Mediterranean and north Pacific specimens from 18 host species (including multiple cetaceans and teleosts). Second, it was investigated whether the geographic location, degree of host vagility, or host taxonomic identity help explain genetic differentiation. Five distinct haplotype groups with varying genetic divergence were distinguished. Although the presence of sibling species cannot be ruled out, species delimitation methods could not find interspecific genetic differences, leaving the taxonomy of the genus unresolved. The observed genetic differentiation could not be attributed to geography or host type. This suggests that members of the genus Pennella show low specificity for definitive hosts and interoceanic dispersal mediated by some vagile definitive hosts. The use of more genetic markers for addressing these questions in the future is encouraged.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0031182025000101/type/journal_articlecetaceandispersalfishgenetic structureparasitic copepodphylogenytaxonomy |
| spellingShingle | Sofía Ten Rachel Vanessa Pool Juan Antonio Raga Andrew D. Sweet Francisco Javier Aznar Phylogeography of Pennella (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) indicates interoceanic dispersal mediated by cetacean and fish hosts Parasitology cetacean dispersal fish genetic structure parasitic copepod phylogeny taxonomy |
| title | Phylogeography of Pennella (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) indicates interoceanic dispersal mediated by cetacean and fish hosts |
| title_full | Phylogeography of Pennella (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) indicates interoceanic dispersal mediated by cetacean and fish hosts |
| title_fullStr | Phylogeography of Pennella (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) indicates interoceanic dispersal mediated by cetacean and fish hosts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phylogeography of Pennella (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) indicates interoceanic dispersal mediated by cetacean and fish hosts |
| title_short | Phylogeography of Pennella (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Pennellidae) indicates interoceanic dispersal mediated by cetacean and fish hosts |
| title_sort | phylogeography of pennella copepoda siphonostomatoida pennellidae indicates interoceanic dispersal mediated by cetacean and fish hosts |
| topic | cetacean dispersal fish genetic structure parasitic copepod phylogeny taxonomy |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0031182025000101/type/journal_article |
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