Effects of the Parasite Eimeria Arizonensis on Survival of Deer Mice (Peromyscus Maniculatus)

Few experimental studies have documented the negative effect of parasites on fitness of hosts under natural or seminatural conditions. We studied the effect of Eimeria arizonensis (Protozoa) on recruitment, winter survival, and change in body mass in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). In field obse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology (Durham) 1996-10, Vol.77 (7), p.2196-2202
Main Authors: Fuller, Claire A., Blaustein, Andrew R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Deer
Ecology
Female animals
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Host-parasite relationships
Infections
Inoculation
Male animals
Mammalia
Mice
Natural immunity
Oocysts
Parasite hosts
Parasites
Peromyscus
Peromyscus maniculatus
Protozoa
Rodents
Vertebrata
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Summary:Few experimental studies have documented the negative effect of parasites on fitness of hosts under natural or seminatural conditions. We studied the effect of Eimeria arizonensis (Protozoa) on recruitment, winter survival, and change in body mass in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). In field observations, the presence of E. arizonensis was negatively related to recruitment in females and to over-winter survival in males. Experimental manipulation of E. arizonensis in large field enclosures also showed that infection negatively affected over-winter survival of males. There was no relationship between the body mass of deer mice and the presence of either natural or experimental infection. Thus, the mechanism through which E. arizonensis affects survival remains unclear.
ISSN:0012-9658
1939-9170
DOI:10.2307/2265712