Data from: Host and parasite life history interplay to yield divergent population genetic structures in two ectoparasites living on the same bat species

Host–parasite interactions are ubiquitous in nature. However, how parasite population genetic structure is shaped by the interaction between host and parasite life history remains understudied. Studies comparing multiple parasites infecting a single host can be used to investigate how different parasite life history traits interplay with host behaviour and life history. In this study, we used 10 newly developed microsatellite loci to investigate the genetic structure of a parasitic bat fly (Basilia nana). Its host, the Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii), has a social system and roosting behaviour that restrict opportunities for parasite transmission. We compared fly genetic structure to that of the host and another parasite, the wing-mite, Spinturnix bechsteini. We found little spatial or temporal genetic structure in B. nana, suggesting a large, stable population with frequent genetic exchange between fly populations from different bat colonies. This contrasts sharply with the genetic structure of the wing-mite, which is highly substructured between the same bat colonies as well as temporally unstable. Our results suggest that although host and parasite life history interact to yield similar transmission patterns in both parasite species, the level of gene flow and eventual spatiotemporal genetic stability is differentially affected. This can be explained by the differences in generation time and winter survival between the flies and wing-mites. Our study thus exemplifies that the population genetic structure of parasites on a single host can vary strongly as a result of how their individual life history characteristics interact with host behaviour and life history traits.

宿主-寄生虫互作（host–parasite interactions）在自然界中普遍存在。然而，宿主与寄生虫生活史的互作如何塑造寄生虫种群遗传结构，这一问题仍未得到充分研究。通过比较感染同一宿主的多种寄生虫的研究，可用于探究不同寄生虫生活史特征如何与宿主行为及生活史相互作用。本研究利用10个新开发的微卫星位点（microsatellite loci），对寄生蝙蝠蝇（Basilia nana）的遗传结构进行了分析。该蝙蝠蝇的宿主为贝氏鼠耳蝠（Myotis bechsteinii），其社会系统与栖息行为限制了寄生虫的传播机会。我们将该蝙蝠蝇的遗传结构与宿主以及另一种寄生虫——翼螨（Spinturnix bechsteini）的遗传结构进行了对比。研究发现，B. nana几乎不存在空间或时间尺度上的遗传结构，这表明其种群规模庞大且稳定，不同蝙蝠群落的蝙蝠蝇种群之间存在频繁的遗传交流。这与翼螨的遗传结构形成鲜明对比：翼螨在相同蝙蝠群落间存在高度的遗传亚结构，且时间尺度上的遗传稳定性较差。研究结果表明，尽管宿主与寄生虫的生活史互作使得两种寄生虫呈现出相似的传播模式，但二者的基因流水平及最终的时空遗传稳定性却受到差异化影响。这一现象可通过蝙蝠蝇与翼螨在世代时长及越冬存活能力上的差异加以解释。因此，本研究证实：同一宿主所寄生的不同寄生虫，其种群遗传结构可因各自生活史特征与宿主行为及生活史性状的互作方式不同而产生显著差异。