Zoology
The bigger the host, the better for its guests. That certainly holds for parasitic barnacles.
05.07.2017
Excerpt from LMU press release of July 5, 2017:
Different strokes for different folks
Rhizocephalan barnacles (Rhizocephala) are parasitic relatives of the more familiar filter-feeding barnacles, and they infect and feed on decapod crustaceans. The parasites consist of an outer sac-like structure which encloses the reproductive organs, and root-like network which they use to penetrate the tissues of their unfortunate hosts. This mode of parasitism is relatively rare, which makes it difficult to gauge the size reached by these parasitic barnacles. Now a research team led by LMU biologist Christina Nagler and Professor Henrik Glenner of the University of Bergen in Norway has used micro-computer tomography (micro-CT) to non-invasively determine the relative volumes of parasite and host in this relationship. The results reveal that there is a positive correlation between the masses of parasite and host, i.e. the larger the host, the larger the parasite. In addition, the team has applied the micro-CT method to obtain new insights into the parasite’s life-cycle, which shed light on their evolution. The study appears in the online journal PLOS ONE 2017.