The cost and benefits in an unusual symbiosis: experimental evidence that bitterling fish (Rhodeus sericeus) are parasites of unionid mussels in Europe
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2006 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Journal of Evolutionary Biology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Zoology |
| Keywords | bitterling; Unionidae; glochidia; coevolution |
| Description | We investigated the nature of the relationship between European bitterling (Rhodeus sericeus), a freshwater fish, and unionid mussels that are used by R. sericeus for oviposition. The growth rate of the European mussel, Unio pictorum, that were heavily infected with R. sericeus embryos was significantly lower than a control group of U. pictorum that hosted low numbers of bitterling embryos. This effect persisted throughout the entire season of mussel growth. In contrast, we detected no reduction in the growth rates of Anodonta woodiana, an Asian species of mussel with a long evolutionary history with bitterling, when exposed to R. sericeus embryos. A. woodiana appeared to escape a growth cost by ejecting R. sericeus embryos prematurely. |
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