scholarly journals Blood Parasite Infection Intensity Covaries with Risk-Taking Personality in Male Carpetan Rock Lizards (Iberolacerta cyreni)

Ethology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 122 (5) ◽  
pp. 355-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gergely Horváth ◽  
José Martín ◽  
Pilar López ◽  
László Zsolt Garamszegi ◽  
Péter Bertók ◽  
...  

Parasitology ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. M. MÜLLER-GRAF ◽  
M. E. J. WOOLHOUSE ◽  
C. PACKER

Infection with the cestode Spirometra spp. was studied in 2 populations of lions in the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, East Africa. These 2 lion populations lived in different habitats and were known to differ genetically: lions in the Serengeti were outbred, whereas lions in the Ngorongoro Crater were inbred. Faecal samples were collected from 112 individually known lions between March 1991 and November 1992. Over 60% of lions were infected and the median intensity of infection was 975 eggs per g of faeces. The distribution of egg counts was overdispersed. There was variability through time, though this was unrelated to seasons delimited by rainfall. There were no significant differences in levels of infection between age classes; cubs less than 9 months were already heavily infected. Sex and reproductive status did not have a significant effect. However, there were significant differences in intensities of infection between the Crater and the Serengeti populations – Spirometra spp. showed a higher level of infection intensity in the Crater population – with some variation between prides within these populations. Allozyme heterozygosity scores were available for a subset of 28 lions but were unrelated to levels of Spirometra infection. It was not possible to ascribe differences in levels of parasite infection to genetic rather than ecological factors.



PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. e0237170
Author(s):  
Coraline Bichet ◽  
François Brischoux ◽  
Cécile Ribout ◽  
Charline Parenteau ◽  
Alizée Meillère ◽  
...  


Ostrich ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 77 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 109-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Jansen ◽  
Steven D van der Spuy ◽  
Timothy M Crowe


2006 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie S. Godfrey ◽  
C. Michael Bull ◽  
Michael G. Gardner


2007 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 156-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinni Madsen ◽  
Gediminas Valkiūnas ◽  
Tatjana A. Iezhova ◽  
Clara Mercade ◽  
Marco Sanchez ◽  
...  


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhihong XU ◽  
Andrew J.J MacIntosh ◽  
Alba Castellano-Navarro ◽  
Emilo Macanas-Martuinez ◽  
Takafumi Suzumura ◽  
...  

Group living is beneficial for individuals, but also comes with costs. One such cost is the increased possibility of pathogen transmission, because increased numbers or frequencies of social contacts is often associated with increased parasite abundance or diversity. The social structure of a group or population has been shown to be paramount to patterns of infection and transmission. Yet, for various reasons, studies investigating the social transmission of parasites in animals, and especially in primates, have only taken into account parts of the group (e.g., only adults or even only adult females), which is likely to impact the interpretation of any results linking sociality and parasitism. Here, we investigated the relationship between social network centrality and an estimate of gastrointestinal helminth infection intensity in a complete group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). We then tested the impact of missing parts of the group on this relationship. We aimed to test: (1) whether social network centrality - the number of partners (degree), frequency of interactions (strength) and level of social integration (eigenvector) - was linked to parasite infection intensity; and, (2) to what extent excluding all or portions of individuals within the group from the analyses might influence the observed relationship. We conducted social network analysis on data collected from one complete group of Japanese macaques over two months on Koshima Island, Japan, to relate metrics of network centrality to an index of parasite infection intensity (eggs per gram of feces: EPG). We then ran a series of knock-out simulations to test the effect(s) of accounting only for certain age-sex classes on the observed relationship. General linear mixed models showed that, in the complete network, centrality was positively associated with infection by the examined geohelminths (Oesophagostomum aculeatum, Trichuris trichiura and Strongyloides fuelleborni), but in partial networks with only adult females, only juveniles, or random subsets of the group, the strength of this relationship - albeit still positive - lost statistical significance. Our study indicates that sampling bias can impact the relationship that is observed between social interaction and parasitism. In addition to supporting earlier results linking geohelminths to Japanese macaque social networks, this work introduces important methodological considerations for research into the dynamics of social transmission, with applications to infectious disease epidemiology, population management, and health interventions.



The Auk ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 716-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Vallender ◽  
Roger D. Bull ◽  
Laurel L. Moulton ◽  
Raleigh J. Robertson


Parasitology ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. DUNN ◽  
M. J. HATCHER

This is a report of the prevalence, transmission and intensity of infection of a microsporidian sex ratio distorter in natural populations of its crustacean host Gammarus duebeni. Prevalence in the adult host population reflects differences in the intensity of infection in transovarially infected embryos and in adult gonadal tissue. The efficiency of transovarial parasite transmission to young also differs between populations, but this alone is insufficient to explain observed patterns of prevalence. Infection intensity may be important in determining future infection of target tissue in the adult and subsequent transmission to future host generations. We consider patterns of parasite infection in terms of selection on transmission and virulence.



Parasitology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 145 (11) ◽  
pp. 1388-1399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Schultz ◽  
Jamie M. Cornelius ◽  
Dustin G. Reichard ◽  
Kirk C. Klasing ◽  
Thomas P. Hahn

AbstractWhile parasite infection can have substantial fitness consequences in organisms, the predictors of parasite prevalence and intensity are often complex and vary depending on the host species. Here, we examined correlates ofHaemoproteus(a common malaria parasite) prevalence and intensity in an opportunistically breeding songbird, the red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra). Specifically, we quantifiedHaemoproteusprevalence and intensity in crossbills caught in the Grand Teton National Park from 2010 to 2013. We found that parasite prevalence varies seasonally and across years, with the highest number of infected individuals occurring in the summer, although there was variation across summers sampled, and that prevalence was positively related to annual mean cone crop sizes (a measure of crossbill food abundance) and daily ambient temperature (a correlate of vector abundance). Parasite intensity was significantly and positively related to one measure of innate immunity, leucocyte counts per blood volume. Finally, neither crossbill age, ecomorph, nor sex had significant effects on parasite infection intensity; however, parasite prevalence did significantly vary among ecomorph and age classes. These results support the interpretation that a combination of physiological (specifically immune activity) and environmental factors affects parasite prevalence and infection intensity in this opportunistically breeding avian species.



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