4.7 Article

How Did Seal Lice Turn into the Only Truly Marine Insects?

期刊

INSECTS
卷 13, 期 1, 页码 -

出版社

MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/insects13010046

关键词

adaptation; Anoplura; Echinophthiriidae; extreme environments

资金

  1. Agencia Nacional de Promocion de la Investigacion, Desarrollo Tecnologico y la Innovacion [PICT 2015-0082, PICT 2018-0537]
  2. LernerGrey Fund for Marine Research
  3. PEPS INEE Apnea (CNRS, France)

向作者/读者索取更多资源

Sucking lice are permanent ectoparasites that have adapted to cope with the amphibious habits of their hosts and survive in the ocean. However, insects are rare in the ocean, and seal lice are one of the few insect species that can endure long immersion periods and deep dives. They have evolved adaptations to tolerate hypoxia, high salinity, low temperature, and hydrostatic pressures.
Simple Summary Sucking lice are permanent and obligate ectoparasites throughout their whole life cycle. Echinophthiriids escorted their mammal hosts during their passage from fully terrestrial to amphibian life. Seal lice synchronize their reproduction cycle with that of their mammalian hosts. Echinophthiriids tolerate long immersion periods and extreme hydrostatic pressures. Diving lice can reach kilometers under the surface and survive, during the months their hosts remain in the open ocean. In the present work, we describe and discuss how some of these adaptations allow seal lice to cope with the amphibious habits of their hosts and how they can help us to understand why insects are so rare in the ocean. Insects are the most evolutionarily and ecologically successful group of living animals, being present in almost all possible mainland habitats; however, they are virtually absent in the ocean, which constitutes more than 99% of the Earth's biosphere. Only a few insect species can be found in the sea but they remain at the surface, in salt marshes, estuaries, or shallow waters. Remarkably, a group of 13 species manages to endure long immersion periods in the open sea, as well as deep dives, i.e., seal lice. Sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura) are ectoparasites of mammals, living while attached to the hosts' skin, into their fur, or among their hairs. Among them, the family Echinophthiriidae is peculiar because it infests amphibious hosts, such as pinnipeds and otters, who make deep dives and spend from weeks to months in the open sea. During the evolutionary transition of pinnipeds from land to the ocean, echinophthiriid lice had to manage the gradual change to an amphibian lifestyle along with their hosts, some of which may spend more than 80% of the time submerged and performing extreme dives, some beyond 2000 m under the surface. These obligate and permanent ectoparasites have adapted to cope with hypoxia, high salinity, low temperature, and, in particular, conditions of huge hydrostatic pressures. We will discuss some of these adaptations allowing seal lice to cope with their hosts' amphibious habits and how they can help us understand why insects are so rare in the ocean.

作者

我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。

评论

主要评分

4.7
评分不足

次要评分

新颖性
-
重要性
-
科学严谨性
-
评价这篇论文

推荐

暂无数据
暂无数据