Small-scale turbulence can reduce parasite infectivity to dinoflagellates

Reproductive plasticity and local adaptation in the host–parasite system formed by the toxic Alexandrium minutum and the dinoflagellate parasite Parvilucifera sinerae

“…Our initial experiments confirmed local adaptation of the parasite since all Mediterranean strains were easily infected, as also observed by Figueroa et al (2008) and Llavería et al (2010), whereas Atlantic strains were slowly infected or totally resistant. The ability of parasites to infect hosts from local populations more efficiently than those from distant populations is consistent with the negative frequency-dependent selection predicted by the matching-allele model, in which co-evolution of the host-parasite system is presumed to be dependent on sex and recombination (Howard and Lively, 1994;Lively, 1989;Lively and Dybdahl, 2000).…”

Plankton blooms and patchiness generated by heterogeneous physical environments

“…Another interesting investigation would be to analyze the influence of turbulence on the infection rate of diseases (Kü hn and Hofmann, 1999;Llaveria et al, 2010) and the resulting spatial distribution of infected organisms.…”

Ecological impacts of parasitic chytrids, syndiniales and perkinsids on populations of marine photosynthetic dinoflagellates

“…Their ecological role has been particularly wellstudied in the case of Amoebophrya species infecting noxious or toxic dinoflagellate species able to produce 'red tides' (Coats et al 1996;Chambouvet et al 2008;Alves-de Souza et al 2012;Velo-Su arez et al 2013). This hypothesis was also tested using mathematical models (Montagnes et al 2008;Salomon and Stolte, 2010;Llaveria et al 2010), the output of which aligns closely with field data. These can also make accurate predictions of the effect of incorporating parasites into host populations for the purposes of biological control.…”