@article{fdi:010086799,
  title = {{P}arasites of {M}oroccan desert {C}optodon guineensis ({P}isces, {C}ichlidae) : transition and resilience in a simplified hypersaline ecosystem},
  author = {{L}ouizi, {H}. and {H}ill-{S}panik, {K}. {M}. and {Q}ninba, {A}. and {C}onnors, {V}. {A}. and {B}elafhaili, {A}. and {A}gn{\`e}se, {J}ean-{F}ran{\c{c}}ois and {P}ariselle, {A}ntoine and de {B}uron, {I}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{S}ebkha {I}mlili ({A}tlantic {S}ahara) is a salt flat with over 160 permanent holes of hypersaline water generated in the {H}olocene and inhabited by euryhaline organisms that are considered to be relics of the past, including the cichlid fish {C}optodon guineensis. {W}e surveyed the fish parasites four times over one year, to i) identify the parasites, and ii) determine possible seasonality in infection patterns. {O}ver 60% of the fish were infected by one to three helminths: an acanthocephalan in the intestine and two digenean metacercariae in the kidney, spleen, liver, muscle, and mesenteries. {T}he acanthocephalan {A}canthogyrus ({A}canthosentis) cf. tilapiae was identified morphologically and molecularly; only one digenean (the heterophyid {P}ygidiopsis genata) could be identified molecularly. {B}oth identified parasites were present throughout the sampling periods; the unidentified metacercariae were present only in summer and fall. {M}ean intensities, but not prevalence of infection by the acanthocephalan, reflected a biannual pattern of transmission. {I}nfection accrued with fish size, possibly due to cannibalism. {B}ecause the water holes include only a few invertebrates, the intermediate hosts of these parasites can be inferred to be the gastropod {E}crobia ventrosa for the digeneans and either the copepod {C}letocamtpus retrogressus or the ostracod {C}yprideis torosa for the acanthocephalan. {T}his ecosystem appears stable and provides a window into the past, as the acanthocephalan likely switched from freshwater tilapia to {C}. guineensis when the {S}ebkha formed. {H}owever, this is a vulnerable environment where the survival of these parasites depends on interactions maintained among only very few hosts.},
  keywords = {{A}canthocephala ; {M}etacercaria ; {A}canthogyrus ({A}canthosentis) tilapiae ; {P}ygidiopsis genata ; {H}ost-switching ; {S}ebkha {I}mlili ; {S}ahara ; {W}etland ; {MAROC} ; {SAHARA}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}arasite},
  volume = {29},
  numero = {},
  pages = {64 [18 p.]},
  ISSN = {1252-607{X}},
  year = {2022},
  DOI = {10.1051/parasite/2022064},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010086799},
}