DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY OF 2 CLOSELY-RELATED HOST SPECIES INDUCED BY ONE PARASITE

Understanding the importance of parasites in affecting the biodiversit y of host species in ecosystems is a central aim of conservation biolo gy. Recent advances in ecology have suggested that differential parasi te susceptibilities between taxonomically related host species may be a determinant of animal community structure. Although conceptually app ealing, such an hypothesis suffers from a lack of field evidence. Here , we report that the populations of two congeneric and sympatric host species (Gammarus insensibilis and G. aequicauda), infected by the sam e parasite (Microphallus papillorobustus), exhibit a strongly contrast ed pattern of parasite-induced mortality.