Proposed PhD project at the Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Botany & Zoology, Faculty of Science,
Masaryk University (Brno, Czech Republic)
Phylogeny of dactylogyrid monogenean flatworms from Lake Tanganyika in relation to cichlid diversity and
African biogeography
Supervisors:
Andrea Vetešníková Šimková, PhD, associate professor (simkova@sci.muni.cz)
Maarten P.M. Vanhove, PhD, post-doctoral researcher (maarten.vanhove@bio.kuleuven.be)
Cichlid fishes are considered a textbook case in research on speciation and evolution. The same goes for
parasites, whose speciation mechanisms are often intricately linked to their hosts, forming their living niche.
Nevertheless, the scientific potential of cichlids and parasites has rarely been combined. Lake Tanganyika,
harbouring the most diverse cichlid species assemblage of all African Great Lakes, is also a home to several
non-cichlid fish species flocks, and numerous invertebrate taxa underwent radiation in the lake. This makes it
an exquisite study system in the fields of biodiversity and evolution. Since a few years, research on Lake
Tanganyika parasites, previously severely overlooked, has intensified. The ecological, behavioural and
phylogenetic diversity of Tanganyika cichlids makes them an ideal natural experiment to investigate parasite
speciation mechanisms. We use parasitic flatworms belonging to Dactylogyridae (Monogenea) as model
parasites, because of their simple lifecycle, morphological diversity and host specificity rendering them the
perfect candidates to study the influence of host evolution and ecology on parasite diversification and high
recent biodiversity.
Some lineages of Tanganyika cichlids have been scrutinized for these flatworms, and have been shown to
harbour an extraordinary diverse community of these parasites. However, several major groups of potential
hosts remain virtually unstudied. Moreover, the phylogenetic relationships between the parasites of various
cichlid lineages have hardly been studied. This project focuses on the deeper phylogenetic relationships
between dactylogyrid parasites of different cichlid lineages. Do they reflect current evolutionary hypotheses
regarding Tanganyika cichlids? What is the influence of host ecology and the role of different parasite infection
strategies? How does parasite phylogeny relate to the historical biogeography of the Lake and adjacent rivers?
The PhD student will perform research in morphological and molecular taxonomy and phylogeny of parasites. A
strong interest in evolutionary ecology, parasitology and ichthyology, in performing thorough laboratory work
(fish dissection, parasite isolation and preparation, genetic techniques) and in statistical and phylogenetic
analyses is required. The willingness to undertake field sampling in Africa is a strong asset. Complementary
data and expertise on cichlid ecology, phylogeny and parasitology will be provided by Belgian, Austrian, Swiss,
Burundese and Congolese partner research groups. Hence, an affinity with working with people from various
backgrounds and a good knowledge of English are needed (basic knowledge of French is appreciated but not
obligatory).
A scholarship for the successful candidate will be provided by the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University Brno.
Candidates for the proposed PhD thesis should contact one of the supervisors before March 30, 2014.