Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Paris : Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
Résumé : International audience
Coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth and sustain millions of people worldwide.However, coral reefs are temporally dynamic and fragile systems subject to ever increasing disturbancesof anthoropogenic and natural origins. Understanding the patterns and trajectories of changes through time isurgently needed to estimate the resilience of coral reefs. To ascertain these patterns, we depend on the availabilityof long-term datasets, which are seldom available. In this study, we present the data set which allowed us to analysethe long-term trends of coral and fish assemblages for the island of Moorea (French Polynesia) from 1983to 2014, a dataset spanning 32 years, comprising two Acanthaster planci outbreaks (1987 and 2006) and severalhurricanes (1982, 1983, 1991 and 2010), on three permanent monitoring sites (quadrats of 50 × 2 m2) located onboth fringing and barrier reefs as well as on the outer slope. Coral cover oscillated significantly over time, particularlyon the outer slope where it suffered greatly from the effects of A. planci outbreaks and hurricanes. Totalfish and commercial fish abundances varied significantly across the three habitats. Prior to 2000, both total fishand herbivorous fish abundances increased on the barrier reef while after this time, numbers began to drop significantlyalong the outer slope. Species richness for total, commercialized and herbivorous fish increased over thesampling period for all three habitats. There were varied responses amongst species to disturbances on the outerslope over the sampling period: while some tended to disappear for a while before reappearing, others showed apeak in abundance in the middle of the sampling period, and still others increased or decreased continuously orwere stable over time. Our results support the view that coral reefs are highly dynamic systems and that differentfunctional groups show different temporal trajectories. While disturbance is probably the major driver for coralcover dynamics, its impact is less obvious for fish, possibly due to their mobility and population dynamics whichmay mask the effect of disturbance.
Les récifs coralliens sont des systèmes dynamiques et diversifiés régulièrement soumis à des perturbationsnaturelles et anthropiques, sources d’hétérogénéité spatiale et temporelle dans la structure et la dynamique deces communautés d’organismes que sont, entre autres, les poissons et les coraux. Récemment, il a été démontréque les activités humaines pouvaient modifier les régimes naturels de perturbations des récifs coralliens en transformantles événements ponctuels en perturbations persistantes ou en stress chronique, soit en introduisant denouveaux types de perturbations, soit en ajoutant ou altérant certaines perturbations naturelles nécessaires au bonmaintien de la dynamique inhérente aux récifs. Dans cette étude, nous présentons la base de données qui nouspermettra d’analyser les tendances à long-terme des assemblages de poissons et de coraux de l’île de Moorea(Polynésie française) entre 1983 et 2014 sur une période de 32 ans, comprenant deux proliférations d’Acanthasterplanci (1987 et 2006) et plusieurs cyclones (1982, 1983, 1991 et 2010), sur trois sites de suivi permanents(quadrats de 50 × 2 m2) sur les récifs barrière et frangeant ainsi que sur la pente externe. La couverture corallienneprésente de fortes oscillations, en particulier sur la pente externe où elle a répondu fortement à la proliférationd’A. planci et des cyclones. Les abondances des poissons totaux et des poissons commercialisés montrent destendances contrastées sur les trois habitats, avec, plus particulièrement, une augmentation sur le récif barrière etune diminution sur la pente externe après 2000. Ces tendances se retrouvent chez les poissons herbivores dansces deux habitats. La richesse spécifique des poissons totaux, commerciaux et herbivores, augmente de façoncontinue au cours de la période d’étude dans les trois habitats. Des groupes particuliers d’espèces répondentdifféremment aux perturbations de la pente externe au cours du suivi : alors que certaines espèces ont tendanceà disparaître pendant quelques années avant de réapparaître, d’autres présentent un pic en terme d’abondanceen milieu de suivi ; d’autres espèces ont des abondances qui augmentent ou diminuent de façon continue, etd’autres encore montrent des abondances stables. Ceci indique que les récifs coralliens sont des systèmes trèsdynamiques dans lesquels les perturbations naturelles peuvent affecter les espèces de façon différente. Alors quele régime de perturbations naturelles semble être important pour la dynamique de la couverture corallienne danscertains habitats, cela se retrouve beaucoup moins pour les poissons. Cette atténuation des fluctuations spatialeset temporelles peut être due aux aptitudes de dispersion de nombreuses espèces de poissons, capables de chercherun autre habitat favorable en cas de perturbation de l’habitat corallien d’origine.
ISSN: 0399-0974

hal-01282378
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01282378

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Linnean Society of London
Résumé : Disentangling the impact of landscape features such as rivers and historical events on dispersal is a challenging but necessary task to gain a comprehensive picture of the evolution of diverse biota such as that found in Amazonia. Adenomera andreae, a small, territorial, terrestrial frog species of the Amazonian forest represents a good model for such studies. We combined cytochrome b sequences with 12 microsatellites to investigate the genetic structure at two contrasted spatial scales in French Guiana: along a similar to 6-km transect, to evaluate dispersal ability, and between paired bank populations along a similar to 65-km stretch of the Approuague river, to test the effect of rivers as barriers to dispersal. We observed significant spatial genetic structure between individuals at a remarkably small geographical scale, and conclude that the species has a restricted dispersal ability that is probably tied to its life-history traits. Mitochondrial and microsatellite data also indicate a high level of differentiation among populations on opposite banks of the river, and, in some cases, among populations on the same riverbank. These results suggest that the observed population structure in A. andreae is the result of restricted dispersal abilities combined with the action of rivers and Quaternary population isolation. Given that Amazonia hosts a great portion of anurans, as well as other small vertebrates, that display life-history traits comparable with A. andreae, we argue that our analyses provide new insights into the complex interactions among evolutionary processes shaping Amazonian biodiversity. (c) 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106, 356373.
ISSN: 0024-4066

hal-01032422
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032422
DOI : 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.01871.x

Éditeur(s) : Wiley-blackwell
Résumé : The reef fauna connectivity of the West Indian Ocean (WIO) is one of the least studied globally. Here we use genetic analyses of the grouper Epinephelus merra (Bloch 1793) to determine patterns of connectivity and to identify barriers to dispersal in this WIO marine area. Phylogeographic and population-level analyses were conducted on cytochrome b sequences and microsatellites (13 loci) from 557 individuals sampled in 15 localities distributed across the West Indian Ocean. Additional samples from the Pacific Ocean were used to benchmark the WIO population structure. The high level of divergence revealed between Indian and Pacific localities (of about 4.5% in sequences) might be the signature of the major tectonic and climatic changes operating at the Plio-Pleistocene transition, congruently with numerous examples of Indo-Pacific speciation. In comparison, the E. merra sequences from the Indian Ocean constitute a monophyletic clade with a low average genetic distance (d < 0.5%). However both genetic markers indicated some structure within this ocean. The main structure revealed was the isolation of the Maldives from the WIO localities (a different group signature identified by clustering analysis, great values of differentiation). Both marker types reveal further significant structure within the WIO, mainly the isolation of the Mascarene Islands (significant AMOVA and isolation-by-distance patterns) and some patchy structure between the northernmost localities and within the Mozambique Channel. The WIO genetic structure of E. merra appeared congruent with main biogeographic boundaries and oceanographic currents.
Marine Ecology-an Evolutionary Perspective (0173-9565) (Wiley-blackwell), 2015-09 , Vol. 36 , N. 3 , P. 447-461

Droits : 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00189/30046/28566.pdf
DOI:10.1111/maec.12153
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00189/30046/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : A study combining very high resolution seismic and sediment core data has been carried out on the Thau lagoon (Mediterranean coast, microtidal setting, SE France) in order to understand more clearly the dynamics and Holocene chronology of its closure through the different stages of its filling. One main seismic unit (U2) has been defined into the infill, above the rocky basement (U0) and a composite unit U1, which is interpreted as remnants of Pleistocene fluvial terraces or/and to early marine Holocene deposits. Unit U2, that reaches locally 9 m in thickness, rests conformably on U1 in the central part of the lagoon and onlaps U0 or U1 close to the edge of the lagoon. It is divided in two sub-units, U2-1 and U2-2. U2-2 rests paraconformably on U2-1 in the central part of the lagoon where the infill is the thickest, while a marked erosional unconformity is observed between U2-1 and U2-2 on topographic highs of the basement and on the seaward edge of the lagoon. A total of seven elementary sequences have been observed in U2-1 and U2-2.;According to core data, U2 consists in a series of mud-dominated sequences, with shell fragments dispersed at the base. The vertical distribution of the fauna into U2-1 and U2-2 reveals a lagoonal environment. However in U2-1, marine species are more abundant in the south of the lagoon. C-14 AMS dating provides three ages: similar to 6000 cal yr B.P. in the lower part of U2-1 on CAL1, 5400 cal yr B.P. just above the boundary between U2-1 and U2-2 on CAL4, similar to 3000 cal yr B.P. in the middle of U2-2 on CAL4.;A scenario to explain the lagoon infill stratigraphy and geometry is proposed. The beginning of the lagoon infill occurred with the initiation of the barrier construction, as soon as the sea-level rise slowed down significantly, i.e. between 7000-6000 yr B.P. The sediment-fill began into the back-barrier system, with a high rate of sedimentation for U2-1, according to the radiocarbon data. At 5400 yr B.P., the barrier is assumed to be totally closed leading to the deposition of the fully lagoonal U2-2 succession. The unconformity between U2-1 and U2-2 is interpreted as the result of a rapid landward retreat of the barrier. This severe retreat could be related to climate forcing and/or brutal change in sediment discharge driven by the Rhone River, which is the main sediment source of the longshore drift. In this scenario, the last sub-unit, U2-2, represents most of the late Holocene infill. In this framework, the elementary sequences observed in U2-2 could be related to high frequency climate changes of about 1000-1500 years periodicity according to C-14 dates.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00486386
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00486386
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.181.2.197

Éditeur(s) : Public Library Science
Résumé : Like hydrothermal vents along oceanic ridges, cold seeps are patchy and isolated ecosystems along continental margins, extending from bathyal to abyssal depths. The Atlantic Equatorial Belt (AEB), from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of Guinea, was one focus of the Census of Marine Life ChEss (Chemosynthetic Ecosystems) program to study biogeography of seep and vent fauna. We present a review and analysis of collections from five seep regions along the AEB: the Gulf of Mexico where extensive faunal sampling has been conducted from 400 to 3300m, the Barbados accretionary prism, the Blake ridge diapir, and in the Eastern Atlantic from the Congo and Gabon margins and the recently explored Nigeria margin. Of the 72 taxa identified at the species level, a total of 9 species or species complexes are identified as amphi-Atlantic. Similarity analyses based on both Bray Curtis and Hellinger distances among 9 faunal collections, and principal component analysis based on presence/absence of megafauna species at these sites, suggest that within the AEB seep megafauna community structure is influenced primarily by depth rather than by geographic distance. Depth segregation is observed between 1000 and 2000m, with the middle slope sites either grouped with those deeper than 2000m or with the shallower sites. The highest level of community similarity was found between the seeps of the Florida escarpment and Congo margin. In the western Atlantic, the highest degree of similarity is observed between the shallowest sites of the Barbados prism and of the Louisiana slope. The high number of amphi-atlantic cold-seep species that do not cluster according to biogeographic regions, and the importance of depth in structuring AEB cold-seep communities are the major conclusions of this study. The hydrothermal vent sites along the Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR) did not appear as "stepping stones" for dispersal of the AEB seep fauna, however, the south MAR and off axis regions should be further explored to more fully test this hypothesis.
Plos One (1932-6203) (Public Library Science), 2010-08 , Vol. 5 , N. 8 , P. 1-11

Droits : © 2010 Olu et al.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00011/12207/8975.pdf
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0011967
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00011/12207/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Linnean Society of London
Résumé : International audience
Although migratory pelagic fishes generally exhibit little geographic differentiation across oceans, as expected from their life-history (broadcast spawning, pelagic larval life, swimming ability of adults) and the assumed homogeneity of the pelagic habitat, exceptions to the rule deserve scrutiny. One such exception is the narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson), where strong genetic heterogeneity at the regional scale has been previously reported. We investigated the genetic composition of S. commerson across the Indo-West Pacific range using control-region sequences (including previously published datasets), cytochrome-b gene partial sequences, and eight microsatellite loci, to further explore its phylogeographic structure. All haplotypes sampled from the Indo-Malay-Papua archipelago (IMPA) and the southwestern Pacific coalesced into a clade (Clade II) that was deeply separated (14.5% nucleotide divergence) from a clade grouping all haplotypes from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea (Clade I). Such a high level of genetic divergence suggested the occurrence of two sister-species. Further phylogeographic partition was evident between the western IMPA and the regions sampled east and south of it, i.e. northern Australia, West Papua, and the Coral Sea. Strong allele-frequency differences were found between local populations in the southwestern Pacific, both at the mitochondrial locus (ΦST=0.282-0.609) and at microsatellite loci (^θ=0.202-0.313). Clade II consisted of four deeply divergent subclades (9.0-11.8% nucleotide divergence for the control region; 0.3-2.5% divergence at the cytochrome b locus). Mitochondrial sub-clades within Clade II generally had narrow geographic distribution, demonstrating further genetic isolation. However, one particular haplogroup within Clade II was present throughout the central Indo-West Pacific; that haplogroup was found to be sister-group to an haplogroup restricted to West Papua and the Coral Sea, yielding evidence of recent secondary westward colonization. Such a complex structure is in sharp contrast with the generally weak phylogeographic patterns uncovered to date in other widely distributed, large pelagic fishes with pelagic eggs and larvae. We hypothesize that in S. commerson and possibly other Scomberomorus species, philopatric migration may play a role in maintaining the geographic isolation of populations by annihilating the potential consequences of passive dispersal.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

ird-00759711
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-00759711
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-00759711/document

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Linnean Society of London
Résumé : International audience
Although migratory pelagic fishes generally exhibit little geographic differentiation across oceans, as expected from their life-history (broadcast spawning, pelagic larval life, swimming ability of adults) and the assumed homogeneity of the pelagic habitat, exceptions to the rule deserve scrutiny. One such exception is the narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson), where strong genetic heterogeneity at the regional scale has been previously reported. We investigated the genetic composition of S. commerson across the Indo-West Pacific range using control-region sequences (including previously published datasets), cytochrome-b gene partial sequences, and eight microsatellite loci, to further explore its phylogeographic structure. All haplotypes sampled from the Indo-Malay-Papua archipelago (IMPA) and the southwestern Pacific coalesced into a clade (Clade II) that was deeply separated (14.5% nucleotide divergence) from a clade grouping all haplotypes from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea (Clade I). Such a high level of genetic divergence suggested the occurrence of two sister-species. Further phylogeographic partition was evident between the western IMPA and the regions sampled east and south of it, i.e. northern Australia, West Papua, and the Coral Sea. Strong allele-frequency differences were found between local populations in the southwestern Pacific, both at the mitochondrial locus (ΦST=0.282-0.609) and at microsatellite loci (^θ=0.202-0.313). Clade II consisted of four deeply divergent subclades (9.0-11.8% nucleotide divergence for the control region; 0.3-2.5% divergence at the cytochrome b locus). Mitochondrial sub-clades within Clade II generally had narrow geographic distribution, demonstrating further genetic isolation. However, one particular haplogroup within Clade II was present throughout the central Indo-West Pacific; that haplogroup was found to be sister-group to an haplogroup restricted to West Papua and the Coral Sea, yielding evidence of recent secondary westward colonization. Such a complex structure is in sharp contrast with the generally weak phylogeographic patterns uncovered to date in other widely distributed, large pelagic fishes with pelagic eggs and larvae. We hypothesize that in S. commerson and possibly other Scomberomorus species, philopatric migration may play a role in maintaining the geographic isolation of populations by annihilating the potential consequences of passive dispersal.
ISSN: 0024-4066

ird-00759711
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-00759711
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-00759711v2/document
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-00759711/file/FauvelotBorsa_Scomberomorus%20commerson%20p%20HAL.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We sought transversotrematid trematodes from French Polynesian fishes by examining 304 individual scaled fishes of 53 species from seven families known to harbour the family elsewhere. A single species was found at two locations in the Tuamotus Archipelago on two species of Chaetodontidae (Chaetodon auriga and Chaetodon ephippium) and one species of Lutjanidae (Lutjanus gibbus). The species closely resembles Transversotrema borboleta Hunter & Cribb, 2012 from chaetodontids and lutjanids of the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) but differs from it consistently in 8 base positions of ITS2 rDNA. This level of variation exceeds that between some clearly morphologically distinct pairs of species of Transversotrema and the form from French Polynesia is thus interpreted as a distinct, though cryptic, species and named Transversotrema polynesiae n. sp. The new species forms part of a complex of species, here characterised as the T. borboleta complex, associated with chaetodontids and lutjanids in the tropical Indo-West Pacific. Most of the putative species within this complex are yet to be described. Comparison of identical numbers of matched samples of fishes from French Polynesia, Heron Island (southern GBR) and Lizard Island (northern GBR) revealed 1, 4 and 10 species of Transversotrema respectively suggesting that the French Polynesian fauna is depauperate for this family. In addition to those species apparently missing from suitable hosts in French Polynesia, several species from further west infect fishes (especially Nemipteridae) that are themselves absent from French Polynesia. This dramatic east–west decline in richness contrasts strongly with what is known for monogeneans, which appear to maintain their richness over the same scale, and is more precipitate than is known for other groups of trematodes. The decline might be explained in part by the absence of the as yet unknown first intermediate hosts in French Polynesia. However, we predict that it is explained by other life cycle traits. We hypothesise that the characters of large short-lived cercariae, short-lived miracidia, the absence in the life-cycle of second intermediate hosts that are capable of transporting the species, and definitive and first intermediate hosts that have limited vagility combine to give marine Transversotrematidae limited dispersal capacity and a propensity for localised speciation.
ISSN: 1383-5769

hal-01333467
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01333467
DOI : 10.1016/j.parint.2013.11.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The tropical to warm-temperate marine brown macroalgal genus Lobophora (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae) recently drew attention because of its striking regional diversity. In this study we reassess Lobophora global species diversity, and species distributions, and explore how historical factors have shaped current diversity patterns. We applied a series of algorithmic species delineation techniques on a global mitochondrial cox3 dataset of 598 specimens, resulting in an estimation of 98–121 species. This diversity by far exceeds traditional diversity estimates based on morphological data. A multi-locus time-calibrated species phylogeny using a relaxed molecular clock, along with DNA-confirmed species distribution data was used to analyse ancestral area distributions, dispersal-vicariance-founder events, and temporal patterns of diversification under different biogeographical models. The origin of Lobophora was estimated in the Upper Cretaceous (−75 to −60 MY), followed by gradual diversification until present. While most speciation events were inferred within marine realms, founder events also played a non-negligible role in Lobophora diversification. The Central Indo-Pacific showed the highest species diversity as a result of higher speciation events in this region. Most Lobophora species have small ranges limited to marine realms. Lobophora probably originated in the Tethys Sea and dispersed repeatedly in the Atlantic (including the Gulf of Mexico) and Pacific Oceans. The formation of the major historical marine barriers (Terminal Tethyan event, Isthmus of Panama, Benguela upwelling) did not act as important vicariance events. Long-distance dispersal presumably represented an important mode of speciation over evolutionary time-scales. The limited geographical ranges of most Lobophora species, however, vouch for the rarity of such events.
ISSN: 1055-7903

hal-01535635
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01535635
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01535635/document
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01535635/file/Vieira_2017_Historical.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.03.007

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD AGU and the Geochemical Society
Résumé : International audience
Analysis of the microstructures in the km-scale mantle shear zone that separates the northern and the central parts of the Lanzo peridotite massif provides evidence of an evolution in time and space of deformation processes accommodating shearing in the shallow mantle within an extensional setting. This shear zone displays an asymmetric distribution of deformation facies. From south to north, gradual reorientation of the foliation of coarse porphyroclastic plagioclase-bearing peridotites is followed by development of protomylonites, mylonites, and mm-scale ultramylonite bands. A sharp grain size gradient marks the northern boundary. Early deformation under near-solidus conditions in the south is recorded by preservation of weakly deformed interstitial plagioclase and almost random clinopyroxene and plagioclase crystal orientations. Feedback between deformation and melt transport probably led to melt focusing and strain weakening in the shear zone. Overprint of melt-rock reaction microstructures by solid-state deformation and decrease in recrystallized grain size in the protomylonites and mylonites indicate continued deformation under decreasing temperature. Less enriched peridotite compositions and absence of ultramafic dykes or widespread melt-impregnation microstructures north of the shear zone and clinopyroxene and amphibole enrichment in the mylonites and ultramylonites suggest that the shear zone acted as both a thermal barrier and a high-permeability channel for late crystallizing fluids. These observations, together with chemical data indicating faster cooling of central Lanzo relative to the northern body, corroborate that this shear zone is a mantle detachment fault. All deformation facies have crystal preferred orientations consistent with deformation by dislocation creep with dominant activation of the (010)[100] and (100)[001] systems in olivine and orthopyroxene, respectively. Dynamic recrystallization produces dispersion of olivine CPO but not a change of dominant deformation mechanism. Evidence for activation of grain boundary sliding is limited to mm-scale ultramylonite bands, where solid-state reactions produced very fine grained polymineralic aggregates. Except for these latest stages of deformation, strain localization does not result from the microstructural evolution; the grain size decrease is a consequence of the need to deform a rock volume whose strength continuously increases because of decreasing temperature conditions. Strain localization in the intermediate levels thus essentially results from the more localizing behavior of both the deep, partially molten, and shallow parts of this extensional shear zone distribution.
ISSN: 1525-2027

hal-00644844
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00644844
DOI : 10.1029/2011GC003627

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD BioMed Central
Résumé : [b]Background[/b]: [i]Amblyomma variegatum[/i] and [i]A. hebraeum[/i] are two ticks of veterinary and human health importance in south-east Africa. In Zimbabwe they occupy parapatric (marginally overlapping and juxtaposed) distributions. Understanding the mechanisms behind this parapatry is essential for predicting the spatio-temporal dynamics of Amblyomma spp. and the impacts of associated diseases. It has been hypothesized that exclusive competition between these species results from competition at the levels of male signal reception (attraction-aggregation-attachment pheromones) or sexual competition for mates. This hypothesis predicts that the parapatry described in Zimbabwe could also be present in other countries in the region. [br/][b]Methods[/b]: To explore this competitive exclusion hypothesis we conducted field surveys at the two species' range limits in Mozambique to identify areas of sympatry (overlapping areas) and to study potential interactions (communicative and reproductive interference effects) in those areas. At sympatric sites, hetero-specific mating pairs were collected and inter-specific attractiveness/repellent effects acting at long and short distances were assessed by analyzing species co-occurrences on co-infested herds and co-infested hosts.[br/] [b]Results[/b]: Co-occurrences of both species at sampling sites were infrequent and localized in areas where both tick and host densities were low. At sympatric sites, high percentages of individuals of both species shared attachment sites on hosts and inter-specific mating rates were high. Although cross-mating rates were not significantly different for[i] A. variegatum[/i] and [i]A. hebraeum[/i] females, attraction towards hetero-specific males was greater for [i]A. hebraeum[/i] females than for A. variegatum females and we observed small asymmetrical repellent effects between males at attachment sites.[br/][b]Conclusions[/b]: Our observations suggest near-symmetrical reproductive interference between [i]A. variegatum[/i] and [i]A. hebraeum[/i], despite between-species differences in the strength of reproductive isolation barriers acting at the aggregation, fixation and partner contact levels. Theoretical models predict that sexual competition coupled with hybrid inviability, greatly reduces the probability of one species becoming established in an otherwise suitable location when the other species is already established. This mechanism can explain why the parapatric boundary in Mozambique has formed within an area of low tick densities and relatively infrequent host-mediated dispersal events.
ISSN: 1756-3305

hal-01220744
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01220744
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01220744/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01220744/file/2015%20Bournez%20Parasites%20%26%20Vectors_%7B365AAFF5-7041-480B-9B77-9CD0485A9B72%7D.pdf
DOI : 10.1186/s13071-015-1116-7