Introduction

Host-parasite (HP) interactions involve the association of two organisms over a long evolutionary time. Thus, the diversification of host and parasites is rarely independent. Phylogenetic congruence quantifies the extent to which each node and branch-length in a host phylogenetic tree maps on a corresponding position in the parasite phylogenetic tree.

Methods

We developed an R package, Rtapas, that provides a new framework to map phylogenetic congruence (or incongruence) on a tanglegram, thereby providing insight into cophylogenetic patterns across the HP evolutionary history. To test the effectiveness of the package, we applied the analysis to a community of 130 species of small mammals and 202 species of flea parasites.

Results

A tanglegram reflecting the congruence of the interactions between mammals and fleas its produced. The degree of congruence in hosts is concentrated in clades, whereas in fleas it is distributed across the entire tree. This suggest that within a flea family some clades exhibit some phylogenetic conservatism in relation to their hosts, whereas other clades do not, probably due to host switching.

Conclusions

Rtapas provides an efficient tool to gauge large and complex HP evolutionary associations. This R package facilitates and speeds up cophylogenetic analysis between two evolutionary histories, as it can handle large phylogenies reducing computational time.

Project PID2019-104908GB-I00 (PRE2020-095070) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.