The evolution of monogenean diversity.

The Monogenea are an ideal group for investigations of the processes behind their past diversification and their present diversity for at least three reasons: they are diverse both in terms of morphology and numbers, they are generally host specific, and their phylogeny is well resolved, at least to the family level. The present investigation takes a broad look at monogenean diversity in order to try to determine whether the diversification of monogeneans is driven by some ecological features of the parasites themselves, or by extrinsic factors associated with their hosts. First, our current knowledge of monogenean diversity appears good enough to warrant investigation into its evolution. The body size of new species correlates negatively with their year of description both generally and within given families, i.e. it decreases over time in a way that suggests that only some of the smallest species are left to be discovered. Second, the occurrence of congeneric monogenean species on the same host species is not associated with host body size, once phylogenetic influences are controlled. This analysis suggests that host size is not one of the factors promoting local diversification of monogenean taxa. Third, the species richness of the different monogenean families does not correlate with the average body size of their members. Thus, this basic parasite life-history trait is not a determinant of diversification rates. Combined, the results of these separate analyses provide preliminary answers to some of the big questions concerning the diversification of monogeneans, but leave many other questions unanswered. The phylogenetic analytical framework adopted here should allow these questions to be tackled once the necessary data become available.