@article{74399a427ce94d929e8d36222535dcf5,
title = "Novel insights into symbiont population structure: Globe-trotting avian feather mites contradict the specialist–generalist variation hypothesis",
abstract = "Researchers often examine symbiont host specificity as a species-level pattern, but it can also be key to understanding processes occurring at the population level, which are not as well understood. The specialist–generalist variation hypothesis (SGVH) attempts to explain how host specificity influences population-level processes, stating that single-host symbionts (specialists) exhibit stronger population genetic structure than multi-host symbionts (generalists) because of fewer opportunities for dispersal and more restricted gene flow between populations. However, this hypothesis has not been tested in systems with highly mobile hosts, in which population connectivity may vary temporally and spatially. To address this gap, we tested the SGVH on proctophyllodid feather mites found on migratory warblers (family Parulidae) with contrasting host specificities, Amerodectes protonotaria (a host specialist of Protonotaria citrea) and A. ischyros (a host generalist of 17 parulid species). We used a pooled-sequencing approach and a novel workflow to analyse genetic variants obtained from whole genome data. Both mite species exhibited fairly weak population structure overall, and contrary to predictions of the SGVH, the generalist was more strongly structured than the specialist. These results may suggest that specialists disperse more freely among conspecifics, whereas generalists sort according to geography. Furthermore, our results may reflect an unexpected period for mite transmission – during the nonbreeding season of migratory hosts – as mite population structure more closely reflects the distributions of hosts during the nonbreeding season. Our findings alter our current understanding of feather mite biology and highlight the potential for studies to explore factors driving symbiont diversification at multiple evolutionary scales.",
keywords = "dispersal, gene flow, host specificity, population genomics, symbiosis",
author = "Matthews, {Alix E.} and Boves, {Than J.} and Sweet, {Andrew D.} and Ames, {Elizabeth M.} and Bulluck, {Lesley P.} and Johnson, {Erik I.} and Matthew Johnson and Lipshutz, {Sara E.} and Percy, {Katie L.} and Raybuck, {Douglas W.} and Schelsky, {Wendy M.} and Tonra, {Christopher M.} and Viverette, {Catherine B.} and Wijeratne, {Asela J.}",
note = "This work was supported by the Arkansas State University College of Sciences and Mathematics to T.J.B.; the Arkansas Audubon Society Trust to A.E.M.; the Students United in Preserving, Exploring, and Researching Biodiversity Program (National Science Foundation; DUE‐1564954); the Biology Department of Loyola University of Chicago as well as a NSF PRFB to S.E.L. (#1907134). We thank those who helped to coordinate and/or collect samples for this project, especially Mark E. Hauber and those in the Prothonotary Warbler Working Group; Jeff Pummill, David Chaffin and Pawel Wolinski at the AHPCC (University of Arkansas) and Sandaruwan Ratnayake (Arkansas State University) for their computational assistance; Alvaro Hernandez and Chris Wright (Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center, University of Illinois Urbana‐Champaign) for their assistance in library preparation and sequencing; Mary E. DuBose (University of Memphis) for creating custom Python scripts for several analyses and reviewing the manuscript; Luca Ferretti (University of Oxford) and Mathieu Gautier (Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations) for their discussions and help on Pool‐Seq analyses; Nick Bayly and Angela Caguazango (SELVA: Investigaci{\'o}n para la Conservaci{\'o}n en el Neotropico) for their discussion on nonbreeding roosting behaviour; and Travis Marsico (Arkansas State University), Fabio Akashi Hernandes (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina), the Subject Editor, and two anonymous reviewers for conducting constructive reviews that improved the manuscript. All ethical guidelines for the use of wild birds in research were followed (Fair et al., 2010 ). Samples were obtained under appropriate guidelines by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC; #638363 – Arkansas State University [ASU]; #201500000028‐R2 – The Ohio State University [OSU]; #10230 – Virginia Commonwealth University [VCU]) and permitted by the United States Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory (#23877 – ASU; #23941 – OSU; #23486 – VCU; #23472‐C – South Carolina). Protonotaria citrea This work was supported by the Arkansas State University College of Sciences and Mathematics to T.J.B.; the Arkansas Audubon Society Trust to A.E.M.; the Students United in Preserving, Exploring, and Researching Biodiversity Program (National Science Foundation; DUE-1564954); the Biology Department of Loyola University of Chicago as well as a NSF PRFB to S.E.L. (#1907134). We thank those who helped to coordinate and/or collect samples for this project, especially Mark E. Hauber and those in the Prothonotary Warbler Working Group; Jeff Pummill, David Chaffin and Pawel Wolinski at the AHPCC (University of Arkansas) and Sandaruwan Ratnayake (Arkansas State University) for their computational assistance; Alvaro Hernandez and Chris Wright (Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) for their assistance in library preparation and sequencing; Mary E. DuBose (University of Memphis) for creating custom Python scripts for several analyses and reviewing the manuscript; Luca Ferretti (University of Oxford) and Mathieu Gautier (Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations) for their discussions and help on Pool-Seq analyses; Nick Bayly and Angela Caguazango (SELVA: Investigaci{\'o}n para la Conservaci{\'o}n en el Neotropico) for their discussion on Protonotaria citrea nonbreeding roosting behaviour; and Travis Marsico (Arkansas State University), Fabio Akashi Hernandes (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina), the Subject Editor, and two anonymous reviewers for conducting constructive reviews that improved the manuscript. All ethical guidelines for the use of wild birds in research were followed (Fair et al., 2010). Samples were obtained under appropriate guidelines by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC; #638363 – Arkansas State University [ASU]; #201500000028-R2 – The Ohio State University [OSU]; #10230 – Virginia Commonwealth University [VCU]) and permitted by the United States Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory (#23877 – ASU; #23941 – OSU; #23486 – VCU; #23472-C – South Carolina).",
year = "2023",
month = oct,
doi = "10.1111/mec.17115",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "32",
pages = "5260--5275",
journal = "Molecular ecology",
issn = "0962-1083",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "19",
}