Loading…
Sleeping site ecology, but not sex, affect ecto- and hemoparasite risk, in sympatric, arboreal primates ( Avahi occidentalis and Lepilemur edwardsi )
A central question in evolutionary parasitology is to what extent ecology impacts patterns of parasitism in wild host populations. In this study, we aim to disentangle factors influencing the risk of parasite exposure by exploring the impact of sleeping site ecology on infection with ectoparasites a...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Frontiers in zoology 2017-09, Vol.14 (1), p.44-44, Article 44 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: | |
| Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| cited_by | cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c594t-f266b54d002405d2787813ff986b0c914e43df58586a863eb4471ea846c015203 |
|---|---|
| cites | cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c594t-f266b54d002405d2787813ff986b0c914e43df58586a863eb4471ea846c015203 |
| container_end_page | 44 |
| container_issue | 1 |
| container_start_page | 44 |
| container_title | Frontiers in zoology |
| container_volume | 14 |
| creator | Hokan, May Strube, Christina Radespiel, Ute Zimmermann, Elke |
| description | A central question in evolutionary parasitology is to what extent ecology impacts patterns of parasitism in wild host populations. In this study, we aim to disentangle factors influencing the risk of parasite exposure by exploring the impact of sleeping site ecology on infection with ectoparasites and vector-borne hemoparasites in two sympatric primates endemic to Madagascar. Both species live in the same dry deciduous forest of northwestern Madagascar and cope with the same climatic constraints, they are arboreal, nocturnal, cat-sized and pair-living but differ prominently in sleeping site ecology. The Western woolly lemur (
) sleeps on open branches and frequently changes sleeping sites, whereas the Milne-Edward's sportive lemur (
) uses tree holes, displaying strong sleeping site fidelity. Sleeping in tree holes should confer protection from mosquito-borne hemoparasites, but should enhance the risk for ectoparasite infestation with mites and nest-adapted ticks. Sex may affect parasite risk in both species comparably, with males bearing a higher risk than females due to an immunosuppressive effect of higher testosterone levels in males or to sex-specific behavior. To explore these hypotheses, ectoparasites and blood samples were collected from 22 individuals of
and 26 individuals of
during the dry and rainy season.
but not
, harbored ectoparasites, namely ticks (
[Ixodidae],
sp. [Argasidae]) and mites (
, [Laelapidae]), suggesting that sleeping in tree holes promotes infestation with ectoparasites. Interestingly, ectoparasites were found solely in the hot, rainy season with a prevalence of 75% (
= 16 animals). Blood smears were screened for the presence and infection intensity of hemoparasites. Microfilariae were detected in both species. Morphological characteristics suggested that each lemur species harbored two different filarial species. Prevalence of microfilarial infection was significantly lower in
than in
No significant difference in infection intensity between the two host species, and no effect of season, daytime of sampling or sex on prevalence or infection intensity was found. In neither host species, parasite infection showed an influence on body weight as an indicator for body condition.
Our findings support that sleeping site ecology affects ectoparasite infestation in nocturnal, arboreal mammalian hosts in the tropics, whereas there is no significant effect of host sex. The influence of sleeping site ecology to vector-borne hemoparasite |
| doi_str_mv | 10.1186/s12983-017-0228-7 |
| format | article |
| fullrecord | <record><control><sourceid>gale_doaj_</sourceid><recordid>TN_cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_ff3c2cee1a5640a992bb22991b551528</recordid><sourceformat>XML</sourceformat><sourcesystem>PC</sourcesystem><galeid>A507109326</galeid><doaj_id>oai_doaj_org_article_ff3c2cee1a5640a992bb22991b551528</doaj_id><sourcerecordid>A507109326</sourcerecordid><originalsourceid>FETCH-LOGICAL-c594t-f266b54d002405d2787813ff986b0c914e43df58586a863eb4471ea846c015203</originalsourceid><addsrcrecordid>eNptkt9u0zAUxiMEYmPwANwgS9xsUjNsx07sm0nVxJ9KlZAYXFuOc5K6JHGxnbE-CO-L246xIuRItuLv-52cky_LXhN8SYgo3wVCpShyTKocUyry6kl2SipGcykle_rofJK9CGGNccHS8zw7oUKyQojyNPt10wNs7NihYCMgMK533XaG6imi0UUU4G6GdNuCiekyuhzpsUErGNxGe733eBu-z5AdUdgOGx29Ncnha-dB92jj7aAjBHSO5rd6ZZEzxjYwRt3bsGctU_kehskjaH5q3wSLLl5mz1rdB3h1v59l3z68_3r9KV9-_ri4ni9zwyWLeUvLsuaswZgyzBtaiUqQom2lKGtsJGHAiqblgotSi7KAmrGKgBasNJhwiouzbHHgNk6v1f5b_VY5bdX-hfOd0j5a04Nq28JQA0A0LxnWUtK6plRKUnOeWCKxrg6szVQP0JjUo9f9EfT4ZrQr1blbxUtcMckT4Pwe4N2PCUJUgw0G-l6P4KagiGS0IkWFqyR9-4907SY_plHtVCWnrCrIX1WnUwN2bF2qa3ZQNee4IlgWtEyqy_-o0mpgsMaN0Kbfc2y4ODIkTYS72OkpBLW4-XKsJQet8S4ED-3DPAhWuwyrQ4ZVyrDaZVjtmnvzeJAPjj-hLX4D_izqBQ</addsrcrecordid><sourcetype>Open Website</sourcetype><iscdi>true</iscdi><recordtype>article</recordtype><pqid>1946524731</pqid></control><display><type>article</type><title>Sleeping site ecology, but not sex, affect ecto- and hemoparasite risk, in sympatric, arboreal primates ( Avahi occidentalis and Lepilemur edwardsi )</title><source>Publicly Available Content Database</source><source>PubMed Central</source><creator>Hokan, May ; Strube, Christina ; Radespiel, Ute ; Zimmermann, Elke</creator><creatorcontrib>Hokan, May ; Strube, Christina ; Radespiel, Ute ; Zimmermann, Elke</creatorcontrib><description>A central question in evolutionary parasitology is to what extent ecology impacts patterns of parasitism in wild host populations. In this study, we aim to disentangle factors influencing the risk of parasite exposure by exploring the impact of sleeping site ecology on infection with ectoparasites and vector-borne hemoparasites in two sympatric primates endemic to Madagascar. Both species live in the same dry deciduous forest of northwestern Madagascar and cope with the same climatic constraints, they are arboreal, nocturnal, cat-sized and pair-living but differ prominently in sleeping site ecology. The Western woolly lemur (
) sleeps on open branches and frequently changes sleeping sites, whereas the Milne-Edward's sportive lemur (
) uses tree holes, displaying strong sleeping site fidelity. Sleeping in tree holes should confer protection from mosquito-borne hemoparasites, but should enhance the risk for ectoparasite infestation with mites and nest-adapted ticks. Sex may affect parasite risk in both species comparably, with males bearing a higher risk than females due to an immunosuppressive effect of higher testosterone levels in males or to sex-specific behavior. To explore these hypotheses, ectoparasites and blood samples were collected from 22 individuals of
and 26 individuals of
during the dry and rainy season.
but not
, harbored ectoparasites, namely ticks (
[Ixodidae],
sp. [Argasidae]) and mites (
, [Laelapidae]), suggesting that sleeping in tree holes promotes infestation with ectoparasites. Interestingly, ectoparasites were found solely in the hot, rainy season with a prevalence of 75% (
= 16 animals). Blood smears were screened for the presence and infection intensity of hemoparasites. Microfilariae were detected in both species. Morphological characteristics suggested that each lemur species harbored two different filarial species. Prevalence of microfilarial infection was significantly lower in
than in
No significant difference in infection intensity between the two host species, and no effect of season, daytime of sampling or sex on prevalence or infection intensity was found. In neither host species, parasite infection showed an influence on body weight as an indicator for body condition.
Our findings support that sleeping site ecology affects ectoparasite infestation in nocturnal, arboreal mammalian hosts in the tropics, whereas there is no significant effect of host sex. The influence of sleeping site ecology to vector-borne hemoparasite risk is less pronounced. The observed parasite infections did not affect body condition and thus may be of minor importance for shaping reproductive fitness. Findings provide first evidence for the specific relevance of sleeping site ecology on parasitism in arboreal and social mammals. Further, our results increase the sparse knowledge on ecological drivers of primate host-parasite interactions and transmission pathways in natural tropical environments.</description><identifier>ISSN: 1742-9994</identifier><identifier>EISSN: 1742-9994</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.1186/s12983-017-0228-7</identifier><identifier>PMID: 28943886</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>England: BioMed Central Ltd</publisher><subject>Animal behavior ; Aquatic insects ; Avahi occidentalis ; Blood ; Body weight ; Deciduous forests ; Disease transmission ; Dry forests ; Ecology ; Ectoparasites ; Endemic species ; Environmental aspects ; Gender differences ; Health aspects ; Host-parasite interactions ; Immunosuppression ; Infection ; Infections ; Infestation ; Insects ; Lemurs ; Lepilemur edwardsi ; Mammals ; Microfilaria ; Mites ; Monkeys & apes ; Mosquitoes ; Nocturnal ; Parasite ; Parasites ; Parasitism ; Physical characteristics ; Population studies ; Primates ; Rainy season ; Seasonality ; Seasons ; Sex ; Sexual behavior ; Site fidelity ; Sleep ; Sociality ; Studies ; Sympatric populations ; Testosterone ; Ticks ; Tropical environments</subject><ispartof>Frontiers in zoology, 2017-09, Vol.14 (1), p.44-44, Article 44</ispartof><rights>COPYRIGHT 2017 BioMed Central Ltd.</rights><rights>Copyright BioMed Central 2017</rights><rights>The Author(s). 2017</rights><lds50>peer_reviewed</lds50><oa>free_for_read</oa><woscitedreferencessubscribed>false</woscitedreferencessubscribed><citedby>FETCH-LOGICAL-c594t-f266b54d002405d2787813ff986b0c914e43df58586a863eb4471ea846c015203</citedby><cites>FETCH-LOGICAL-c594t-f266b54d002405d2787813ff986b0c914e43df58586a863eb4471ea846c015203</cites></display><links><openurl>$$Topenurl_article</openurl><openurlfulltext>$$Topenurlfull_article</openurlfulltext><thumbnail>$$Tsyndetics_thumb_exl</thumbnail><linktopdf>$$Uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5607495/pdf/$$EPDF$$P50$$Gpubmedcentral$$Hfree_for_read</linktopdf><linktohtml>$$Uhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/1946524731?pq-origsite=primo$$EHTML$$P50$$Gproquest$$Hfree_for_read</linktohtml><link.rule.ids>230,314,727,780,784,885,25753,27924,27925,37012,37013,44590,53791,53793</link.rule.ids><backlink>$$Uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28943886$$D View this record in MEDLINE/PubMed$$Hfree_for_read</backlink></links><search><creatorcontrib>Hokan, May</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Strube, Christina</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Radespiel, Ute</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Zimmermann, Elke</creatorcontrib><title>Sleeping site ecology, but not sex, affect ecto- and hemoparasite risk, in sympatric, arboreal primates ( Avahi occidentalis and Lepilemur edwardsi )</title><title>Frontiers in zoology</title><addtitle>Front Zool</addtitle><description>A central question in evolutionary parasitology is to what extent ecology impacts patterns of parasitism in wild host populations. In this study, we aim to disentangle factors influencing the risk of parasite exposure by exploring the impact of sleeping site ecology on infection with ectoparasites and vector-borne hemoparasites in two sympatric primates endemic to Madagascar. Both species live in the same dry deciduous forest of northwestern Madagascar and cope with the same climatic constraints, they are arboreal, nocturnal, cat-sized and pair-living but differ prominently in sleeping site ecology. The Western woolly lemur (
) sleeps on open branches and frequently changes sleeping sites, whereas the Milne-Edward's sportive lemur (
) uses tree holes, displaying strong sleeping site fidelity. Sleeping in tree holes should confer protection from mosquito-borne hemoparasites, but should enhance the risk for ectoparasite infestation with mites and nest-adapted ticks. Sex may affect parasite risk in both species comparably, with males bearing a higher risk than females due to an immunosuppressive effect of higher testosterone levels in males or to sex-specific behavior. To explore these hypotheses, ectoparasites and blood samples were collected from 22 individuals of
and 26 individuals of
during the dry and rainy season.
but not
, harbored ectoparasites, namely ticks (
[Ixodidae],
sp. [Argasidae]) and mites (
, [Laelapidae]), suggesting that sleeping in tree holes promotes infestation with ectoparasites. Interestingly, ectoparasites were found solely in the hot, rainy season with a prevalence of 75% (
= 16 animals). Blood smears were screened for the presence and infection intensity of hemoparasites. Microfilariae were detected in both species. Morphological characteristics suggested that each lemur species harbored two different filarial species. Prevalence of microfilarial infection was significantly lower in
than in
No significant difference in infection intensity between the two host species, and no effect of season, daytime of sampling or sex on prevalence or infection intensity was found. In neither host species, parasite infection showed an influence on body weight as an indicator for body condition.
Our findings support that sleeping site ecology affects ectoparasite infestation in nocturnal, arboreal mammalian hosts in the tropics, whereas there is no significant effect of host sex. The influence of sleeping site ecology to vector-borne hemoparasite risk is less pronounced. The observed parasite infections did not affect body condition and thus may be of minor importance for shaping reproductive fitness. Findings provide first evidence for the specific relevance of sleeping site ecology on parasitism in arboreal and social mammals. Further, our results increase the sparse knowledge on ecological drivers of primate host-parasite interactions and transmission pathways in natural tropical environments.</description><subject>Animal behavior</subject><subject>Aquatic insects</subject><subject>Avahi occidentalis</subject><subject>Blood</subject><subject>Body weight</subject><subject>Deciduous forests</subject><subject>Disease transmission</subject><subject>Dry forests</subject><subject>Ecology</subject><subject>Ectoparasites</subject><subject>Endemic species</subject><subject>Environmental aspects</subject><subject>Gender differences</subject><subject>Health aspects</subject><subject>Host-parasite interactions</subject><subject>Immunosuppression</subject><subject>Infection</subject><subject>Infections</subject><subject>Infestation</subject><subject>Insects</subject><subject>Lemurs</subject><subject>Lepilemur edwardsi</subject><subject>Mammals</subject><subject>Microfilaria</subject><subject>Mites</subject><subject>Monkeys & apes</subject><subject>Mosquitoes</subject><subject>Nocturnal</subject><subject>Parasite</subject><subject>Parasites</subject><subject>Parasitism</subject><subject>Physical characteristics</subject><subject>Population studies</subject><subject>Primates</subject><subject>Rainy season</subject><subject>Seasonality</subject><subject>Seasons</subject><subject>Sex</subject><subject>Sexual behavior</subject><subject>Site fidelity</subject><subject>Sleep</subject><subject>Sociality</subject><subject>Studies</subject><subject>Sympatric populations</subject><subject>Testosterone</subject><subject>Ticks</subject><subject>Tropical environments</subject><issn>1742-9994</issn><issn>1742-9994</issn><fulltext>true</fulltext><rsrctype>article</rsrctype><creationdate>2017</creationdate><recordtype>article</recordtype><sourceid>PIMPY</sourceid><sourceid>DOA</sourceid><recordid>eNptkt9u0zAUxiMEYmPwANwgS9xsUjNsx07sm0nVxJ9KlZAYXFuOc5K6JHGxnbE-CO-L246xIuRItuLv-52cky_LXhN8SYgo3wVCpShyTKocUyry6kl2SipGcykle_rofJK9CGGNccHS8zw7oUKyQojyNPt10wNs7NihYCMgMK533XaG6imi0UUU4G6GdNuCiekyuhzpsUErGNxGe733eBu-z5AdUdgOGx29Ncnha-dB92jj7aAjBHSO5rd6ZZEzxjYwRt3bsGctU_kehskjaH5q3wSLLl5mz1rdB3h1v59l3z68_3r9KV9-_ri4ni9zwyWLeUvLsuaswZgyzBtaiUqQom2lKGtsJGHAiqblgotSi7KAmrGKgBasNJhwiouzbHHgNk6v1f5b_VY5bdX-hfOd0j5a04Nq28JQA0A0LxnWUtK6plRKUnOeWCKxrg6szVQP0JjUo9f9EfT4ZrQr1blbxUtcMckT4Pwe4N2PCUJUgw0G-l6P4KagiGS0IkWFqyR9-4907SY_plHtVCWnrCrIX1WnUwN2bF2qa3ZQNee4IlgWtEyqy_-o0mpgsMaN0Kbfc2y4ODIkTYS72OkpBLW4-XKsJQet8S4ED-3DPAhWuwyrQ4ZVyrDaZVjtmnvzeJAPjj-hLX4D_izqBQ</recordid><startdate>20170920</startdate><enddate>20170920</enddate><creator>Hokan, May</creator><creator>Strube, Christina</creator><creator>Radespiel, Ute</creator><creator>Zimmermann, Elke</creator><general>BioMed Central Ltd</general><general>BioMed Central</general><general>BMC</general><scope>NPM</scope><scope>AAYXX</scope><scope>CITATION</scope><scope>ISR</scope><scope>3V.</scope><scope>7QG</scope><scope>7SS</scope><scope>7X7</scope><scope>7XB</scope><scope>8FE</scope><scope>8FH</scope><scope>8FI</scope><scope>8FJ</scope><scope>8FK</scope><scope>8G5</scope><scope>ABUWG</scope><scope>AFKRA</scope><scope>AZQEC</scope><scope>BBNVY</scope><scope>BENPR</scope><scope>BHPHI</scope><scope>CCPQU</scope><scope>DWQXO</scope><scope>FYUFA</scope><scope>GHDGH</scope><scope>GNUQQ</scope><scope>GUQSH</scope><scope>HCIFZ</scope><scope>K9.</scope><scope>LK8</scope><scope>M0S</scope><scope>M2O</scope><scope>M7P</scope><scope>MBDVC</scope><scope>PIMPY</scope><scope>PQEST</scope><scope>PQQKQ</scope><scope>PQUKI</scope><scope>Q9U</scope><scope>7X8</scope><scope>5PM</scope><scope>DOA</scope></search><sort><creationdate>20170920</creationdate><title>Sleeping site ecology, but not sex, affect ecto- and hemoparasite risk, in sympatric, arboreal primates ( Avahi occidentalis and Lepilemur edwardsi )</title><author>Hokan, May ; Strube, Christina ; Radespiel, Ute ; Zimmermann, Elke</author></sort><facets><frbrtype>5</frbrtype><frbrgroupid>cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c594t-f266b54d002405d2787813ff986b0c914e43df58586a863eb4471ea846c015203</frbrgroupid><rsrctype>articles</rsrctype><prefilter>articles</prefilter><language>eng</language><creationdate>2017</creationdate><topic>Animal behavior</topic><topic>Aquatic insects</topic><topic>Avahi occidentalis</topic><topic>Blood</topic><topic>Body weight</topic><topic>Deciduous forests</topic><topic>Disease transmission</topic><topic>Dry forests</topic><topic>Ecology</topic><topic>Ectoparasites</topic><topic>Endemic species</topic><topic>Environmental aspects</topic><topic>Gender differences</topic><topic>Health aspects</topic><topic>Host-parasite interactions</topic><topic>Immunosuppression</topic><topic>Infection</topic><topic>Infections</topic><topic>Infestation</topic><topic>Insects</topic><topic>Lemurs</topic><topic>Lepilemur edwardsi</topic><topic>Mammals</topic><topic>Microfilaria</topic><topic>Mites</topic><topic>Monkeys & apes</topic><topic>Mosquitoes</topic><topic>Nocturnal</topic><topic>Parasite</topic><topic>Parasites</topic><topic>Parasitism</topic><topic>Physical characteristics</topic><topic>Population studies</topic><topic>Primates</topic><topic>Rainy season</topic><topic>Seasonality</topic><topic>Seasons</topic><topic>Sex</topic><topic>Sexual behavior</topic><topic>Site fidelity</topic><topic>Sleep</topic><topic>Sociality</topic><topic>Studies</topic><topic>Sympatric populations</topic><topic>Testosterone</topic><topic>Ticks</topic><topic>Tropical environments</topic><toplevel>peer_reviewed</toplevel><toplevel>online_resources</toplevel><creatorcontrib>Hokan, May</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Strube, Christina</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Radespiel, Ute</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Zimmermann, Elke</creatorcontrib><collection>PubMed</collection><collection>CrossRef</collection><collection>Gale In Context: Science</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (Corporate)</collection><collection>Animal Behavior Abstracts</collection><collection>Entomology Abstracts (Full archive)</collection><collection>Health & Medical Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (purchase pre-March 2016)</collection><collection>ProQuest SciTech Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Natural Science Collection</collection><collection>Hospital Premium Collection</collection><collection>Hospital Premium Collection (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (Alumni) (purchase pre-March 2016)</collection><collection>Research Library (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central UK/Ireland</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Essentials</collection><collection>Biological Science Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Central</collection><collection>Natural Science Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest One Community College</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Korea</collection><collection>Health Research Premium Collection</collection><collection>Health Research Premium Collection (Alumni)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Student</collection><collection>Research Library Prep</collection><collection>SciTech Premium Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Health & Medical Complete (Alumni)</collection><collection>ProQuest Biological Science Collection</collection><collection>Health & Medical Collection (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>Research Library</collection><collection>Biological Science Database</collection><collection>Research Library (Corporate)</collection><collection>Publicly Available Content Database</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic Eastern Edition (DO NOT USE)</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic UKI Edition</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Basic</collection><collection>MEDLINE - Academic</collection><collection>PubMed Central (Full Participant titles)</collection><collection>DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals</collection><jtitle>Frontiers in zoology</jtitle></facets><delivery><delcategory>Remote Search Resource</delcategory><fulltext>fulltext</fulltext></delivery><addata><au>Hokan, May</au><au>Strube, Christina</au><au>Radespiel, Ute</au><au>Zimmermann, Elke</au><format>journal</format><genre>article</genre><ristype>JOUR</ristype><atitle>Sleeping site ecology, but not sex, affect ecto- and hemoparasite risk, in sympatric, arboreal primates ( Avahi occidentalis and Lepilemur edwardsi )</atitle><jtitle>Frontiers in zoology</jtitle><addtitle>Front Zool</addtitle><date>2017-09-20</date><risdate>2017</risdate><volume>14</volume><issue>1</issue><spage>44</spage><epage>44</epage><pages>44-44</pages><artnum>44</artnum><issn>1742-9994</issn><eissn>1742-9994</eissn><abstract>A central question in evolutionary parasitology is to what extent ecology impacts patterns of parasitism in wild host populations. In this study, we aim to disentangle factors influencing the risk of parasite exposure by exploring the impact of sleeping site ecology on infection with ectoparasites and vector-borne hemoparasites in two sympatric primates endemic to Madagascar. Both species live in the same dry deciduous forest of northwestern Madagascar and cope with the same climatic constraints, they are arboreal, nocturnal, cat-sized and pair-living but differ prominently in sleeping site ecology. The Western woolly lemur (
) sleeps on open branches and frequently changes sleeping sites, whereas the Milne-Edward's sportive lemur (
) uses tree holes, displaying strong sleeping site fidelity. Sleeping in tree holes should confer protection from mosquito-borne hemoparasites, but should enhance the risk for ectoparasite infestation with mites and nest-adapted ticks. Sex may affect parasite risk in both species comparably, with males bearing a higher risk than females due to an immunosuppressive effect of higher testosterone levels in males or to sex-specific behavior. To explore these hypotheses, ectoparasites and blood samples were collected from 22 individuals of
and 26 individuals of
during the dry and rainy season.
but not
, harbored ectoparasites, namely ticks (
[Ixodidae],
sp. [Argasidae]) and mites (
, [Laelapidae]), suggesting that sleeping in tree holes promotes infestation with ectoparasites. Interestingly, ectoparasites were found solely in the hot, rainy season with a prevalence of 75% (
= 16 animals). Blood smears were screened for the presence and infection intensity of hemoparasites. Microfilariae were detected in both species. Morphological characteristics suggested that each lemur species harbored two different filarial species. Prevalence of microfilarial infection was significantly lower in
than in
No significant difference in infection intensity between the two host species, and no effect of season, daytime of sampling or sex on prevalence or infection intensity was found. In neither host species, parasite infection showed an influence on body weight as an indicator for body condition.
Our findings support that sleeping site ecology affects ectoparasite infestation in nocturnal, arboreal mammalian hosts in the tropics, whereas there is no significant effect of host sex. The influence of sleeping site ecology to vector-borne hemoparasite risk is less pronounced. The observed parasite infections did not affect body condition and thus may be of minor importance for shaping reproductive fitness. Findings provide first evidence for the specific relevance of sleeping site ecology on parasitism in arboreal and social mammals. Further, our results increase the sparse knowledge on ecological drivers of primate host-parasite interactions and transmission pathways in natural tropical environments.</abstract><cop>England</cop><pub>BioMed Central Ltd</pub><pmid>28943886</pmid><doi>10.1186/s12983-017-0228-7</doi><tpages>1</tpages><oa>free_for_read</oa></addata></record> |
| fulltext | fulltext |
| identifier | ISSN: 1742-9994 |
| ispartof | Frontiers in zoology, 2017-09, Vol.14 (1), p.44-44, Article 44 |
| issn | 1742-9994 1742-9994 |
| language | eng |
| recordid | cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_ff3c2cee1a5640a992bb22991b551528 |
| source | Publicly Available Content Database; PubMed Central |
| subjects | Animal behavior Aquatic insects Avahi occidentalis Blood Body weight Deciduous forests Disease transmission Dry forests Ecology Ectoparasites Endemic species Environmental aspects Gender differences Health aspects Host-parasite interactions Immunosuppression Infection Infections Infestation Insects Lemurs Lepilemur edwardsi Mammals Microfilaria Mites Monkeys & apes Mosquitoes Nocturnal Parasite Parasites Parasitism Physical characteristics Population studies Primates Rainy season Seasonality Seasons Sex Sexual behavior Site fidelity Sleep Sociality Studies Sympatric populations Testosterone Ticks Tropical environments |
| title | Sleeping site ecology, but not sex, affect ecto- and hemoparasite risk, in sympatric, arboreal primates ( Avahi occidentalis and Lepilemur edwardsi ) |
| url | http://sfxeu10.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/loughborough?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_tim=2025-01-06T14%3A57%3A06IST&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=infofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rfr_id=info:sid/primo.exlibrisgroup.com:primo3-Article-gale_doaj_&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Sleeping%20site%20ecology,%20but%20not%20sex,%20affect%20ecto-%20and%20hemoparasite%20risk,%20in%20sympatric,%20arboreal%20primates%20(%20Avahi%20occidentalis%20and%20Lepilemur%20edwardsi%20)&rft.jtitle=Frontiers%20in%20zoology&rft.au=Hokan,%20May&rft.date=2017-09-20&rft.volume=14&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=44&rft.epage=44&rft.pages=44-44&rft.artnum=44&rft.issn=1742-9994&rft.eissn=1742-9994&rft_id=info:doi/10.1186/s12983-017-0228-7&rft_dat=%3Cgale_doaj_%3EA507109326%3C/gale_doaj_%3E%3Cgrp_id%3Ecdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c594t-f266b54d002405d2787813ff986b0c914e43df58586a863eb4471ea846c015203%3C/grp_id%3E%3Coa%3E%3C/oa%3E%3Curl%3E%3C/url%3E&rft_id=info:oai/&rft_pqid=1946524731&rft_id=info:pmid/28943886&rft_galeid=A507109326&rfr_iscdi=true |