PCI Zoology

125

Title

Within and among population differences in cuticular hydrocarbons in the seabird tick Ixodes uriaeuse asterix (*) to get italics

Authors

Marlène Dupraz, Chloe Leroy, Thorkell Lindberg Thórarinsson, Patrizia d’Ettorre, Karen D. McCoyPlease use the format "First name initials family name" as in "Marie S. Curie, Niels H. D. Bohr, Albert Einstein, John R. R. Tolkien, Donna T. Strickland"

Year

2022

Picture

Abstract

The hydrophobic layer of the arthropod cuticle acts to maintain water balance, but can also serve to transmit chemical signals via cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC), essential mediators of arthropod behavior. CHC signatures typically vary qualitatively among species, but also quantitatively among populations within a species, and have been used as taxonomic tools to differentiate species or populations in a variety of taxa. Most work in this area to date has focused on insects, with little known for other arthropod groups such as ticks. The worldwide distribution and extensive host-range of the seabird tick Ixodes uriae make it a good model to study the factors influencing CHC composition. Genetically differentiated host-races of I. uriae have evolved across the distribution of this species but the factors promoting sympatric population divergence are still unknown. To test for a potential role of host-associated CHC in population isolation, we collected I. uriae specimens from two of its seabird hosts, the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) and the common guillemot (Uria aalge) in different colonies in Iceland. Using gas-chromatography and mass-spectrometry, we detected a complex cuticular mixture of 22 hydrocarbons, including n-alkanes, methyl-alkanes and alkenes ranging from 17 to 33 carbons in length. We found that each population had a distinct CHC profile. The host group explained the greatest amount of population divergence, with long-chain hydrocarbons being more abundant in puffin tick populations compared to guillemot tick populations. Future work will now be required to test whether the different CHC signals reinforce assortative mating, thereby playing a role in generating I. uriae population divergence patterns, and to evaluate diverse hypotheses on the origin of distinct population signatures.

Indicate the full web address (DOI or URL) giving public access to these data (if you have any problems with the deposit of your data, please contact contact@zool.peercommunityin.org). In case all raw data are included in the preprint, indicate the DOI or URL of the preprint.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5889077, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6497483You should fill this box only if you chose 'All or part of the results presented in this preprint are based on data'. URL must start with http:// or https://

Indicate the full web address (DOI or URL) giving public access to these scripts (if you have any problems with the deposit of your scripts, please contact contact@zool.peercommunityin.org). In case all raw scripts are included in the preprint, indicate the DOI or URL of the preprint.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7018260You should fill this box only if you chose 'Scripts were used to obtain or analyze the results'. URL must start with http:// or https://

Indicate the full web address (DOI, SWHID or URL) giving public access to these codes (if you have any problems with the deposit of your codes, please contact contact@zool.peercommunityin.org). In case all raw codes are included in the preprint, indicate the DOI or URL of the preprint.

You should fill this box only if you chose 'Codes have been used in this study'. URL must start with http:// or https://

Keywords

Host race formation; GC-MS; colonial seabirds; Ixodidae; environmental variation

Methods that require specific expertise (optional)

NonePlease indicate the methods that may require specialised expertise during the peer review process (use a comma to separate various required expertises).

Thematic fields

Acari, Biology, Ecology, Evolution

Suggested reviewers - Suggest up to 10 reviewers (provide names and Email addresses). (Optional)

No need for them to be recommenders of PCI Zool. Please do not suggest reviewers for whom there might be a conflict of interest. Reviewers are not allowed to review preprints written by close colleagues (with whom they have published in the last four years, with whom they have received joint funding in the last four years, or with whom they are currently writing a manuscript, or submitting a grant proposal), or by family members, friends, or anyone for whom bias might affect the nature of the review - see the code of conduct

Opposed reviewers - Suggest up to 5 people not to invite as reviewers. (Optional)

e.g. John Doe [john@doe.com]

Submission date

2022-02-08 13:00:52

Recommender

Felix Sperling

Reviewers

or Register
Submit a preprint