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Spatial Variation in Sex-biased Parasitism of an Androdioecious Mangrove Fish

Divergent selection between the sexes may enable parasites to better infect one host sex over the other, potentially leading to sex-biased parasitism. Hosts also typically harbor a component community of parasite species that can vary across a spatial scale. We explored spatial variation in sex-biased parasitism in mangrove rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus), an androdioecious fish in which simultaneous hermaphrodites can facultatively transition to male. Using cup traps deployed in the mangroves, we sampled populations that varied in sex ratio; three with relatively high and low percentages of males in Belize and the Florida Keys, respectively. Fish were sexed, and their external bodies and all organs were examined for parasites using microscopy. Hermaphrodites had significantly higher parasite species diversity overall (Simpson's index). …

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