1
|
Khokhlova IS, Fielden LJ, Shenbrot GI, Krasnov BR. Metabolic rate and ecological traits of ectoparasites: a case study with seven flea species from the Negev Desert. Parasitol Res 2023; 122:2317-2324. [PMID: 37522953 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-023-07931-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
We studied the relationship between fleas' metabolic rate and their ecological traits, using data on standard metabolic rate (SMR), mean abundance, host specificity, and geographic range size in males and females of seven desert flea species. SMR was measured via mass-specific CO2 emission, whereas host specificity was measured as (a) the mean number of host species used by a flea per region in regions where this flea was recorded; (b) the total number of host species a flea exploited across its geographic range; and (c) the phylogenetic diversity of the flea's hosts. To control for confounding effects of phylogeny when analysing data on multiple species, we applied the Phylogenetic Generalised Least Squares (PGLS) model. We found that the only ecological trait significantly correlating with flea SMR was the phylogenetic diversity of hosts utilized by a flea across its geographic range. The strength of the association between SMR and host phylogenetic diversity was higher in male than in female fleas. We explain the relationship between flea SMR and their host specificity by the necessity of host-opportunistic species to compensate for the high energetic cost of neutralizing multiple defences from multiple hosts by increased SMR.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Irina S Khokhlova
- French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
| | - Laura J Fielden
- Biology Department, School of Science and Mathematics, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO, USA
| | - Georgy I Shenbrot
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 8499000, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
| | - Boris R Krasnov
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 8499000, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Messika I, Garrido M, Kedem H, China V, Gavish Y, Dong Q, Fuqua C, Clay K, Hawlena H. From endosymbionts to host communities: factors determining the reproductive success of arthropod vectors. Oecologia 2017; 184:859-871. [PMID: 28721523 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-3906-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Elucidating the factors determining reproductive success has challenged scientists since Darwin, but the exact pathways that shape the evolution of life history traits by connecting extrinsic (e.g., landscape structure) and intrinsic (e.g., female's age and endosymbionts) factors and reproductive success have rarely been studied. Here we collected female fleas from wild rodents in plots differing in their densities and proportions of the most dominant rodent species. We then combined path analysis and model selection approaches to explore the network of effects, ranging from micro to macroscales, determining the reproductive success of these fleas. Our results suggest that female reproductive success is directly and positively associated with their infection by Mycoplasma bacteria and their own body mass, and with the rodent species size and total density. In addition, we found evidence for indirect effects of rodent sex and rodent community diversity on female reproductive success. These results highlight the importance of exploring interrelated factors across organization scales while studying the reproductive success of wild organisms, and they have implications for the control of vector-borne diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Irit Messika
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Mario Garrido
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
| | - Hadar Kedem
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Victor China
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- The Inter-University Institute for Marine Sciences, Eilat, Israel
| | - Yoni Gavish
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Qunfeng Dong
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Center for Biomedical Informatics, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Clay Fuqua
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Keith Clay
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Hadas Hawlena
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Parasite performance and host alternation: is there a negative effect in host-specific and host-opportunistic parasites? Parasitology 2017; 144:1107-1116. [PMID: 28345506 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182017000373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Environmental fluctuations are expected to require special adaptations only if they are associated with a decrease in fitness. We compared reproductive performance between fleas fed on alternating (preferred and non-preferred) hosts and fleas fed solely on either a preferred or a non-preferred host to determine whether (1) host alternation incurs an immediate negative effect, and, if yes, then (2) whether this effect is greater in a host specialist (Parapulex chephrenis) than in host generalists (Xenopsylla conformis and Synosternus cleopatrae). We also compared flea performance under alternating host regimes with different host order (initial feeding on either a preferred or a non-preferred host). An immediate negative effect of alternating hosts on reproductive performance was found in P. chephrenis only. These fleas produced 44·3% less eggs that were 3·6% smaller when they fed on alternating hosts as compared with a preferred host. In contrast, X. conformis and S. cleopatrae appeared to be able to adapt their reproductive strategy to host alternation by producing higher quality offspring (on average, 3·1% faster development and 2·1% larger size) without compromising offspring number. However, the former produced eggs that were slightly, albeit significantly, smaller when it fed on alternating hosts as compared with a preferred host. Moreover, host order affected reproductive performance in host generalists (e.g. 2·8% larger eggs when the first feeding was performed on a non-preferred host), but not in a host specialist. We conclude that immediate effects of environmental fluctuation on parasite fitness depend on the degree of host specialization.
Collapse
|
4
|
Experimental evidence of negative interspecific interactions among imago fleas: flea and host identities matter. Parasitol Res 2015; 115:937-47. [DOI: 10.1007/s00436-015-4818-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
|
5
|
Abstract
To understand mechanisms behind positive interspecific co-occurrences in flea infracommunities, we asked whether co-infestation results in an increase of flea fitness (quantity and/or quality of the offspring). We studied reproductive performance of Xenopsylla ramesis and Parapulex chephrenis when they exploited their characteristic host (Meriones crassus and Acomys cahirinus, respectively) either alone or together with another species. We used egg production, the number of new imagoes, pre-imaginal survival and egg size as fitness-related variables and predicted that fitness will be higher in fleas feeding in mixed- than in single-species groups. In both fleas, mean number of eggs produced per female flea did not depend on experimental treatment. No effect of single- vs mixed-species infestation on the mean number of new imagoes per female and the number of emerged imagoes per egg was found for X. ramesis, whereas both these numbers were higher in mixed- than in single-species groups for P. chephrenis. X. ramesis produced eggs of similar size independently of treatment, whereas eggs produced by P. chephrenis in mixed-species groups were significantly larger than eggs produced in single-species groups. We conclude that an increase in reproductive performance as a response to co-infestation may be one of the mechanisms behind aggregative structure of flea infracommunities. However, this response may vary among flea species.
Collapse
|
6
|
Intraspecific variation of body size in a gamasid mite Laelaps clethrionomydis: environment, geography and host dependence. Parasitol Res 2015; 114:3767-74. [DOI: 10.1007/s00436-015-4606-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2015] [Accepted: 06/23/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
7
|
Khokhlova IS, Pilosof S, Fielden LJ, Degen AA, Krasnov BR. A trade-off between quantity and quality of offspring in haematophagous ectoparasites: the effect of the level of specialization. J Anim Ecol 2013; 83:397-405. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2013] [Accepted: 08/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Irina S. Khokhlova
- Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture; French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands; Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Sede-Boqer Campus; Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990 Israel
| | - Shai Pilosof
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology; Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research; Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Sede-Boqer Campus; Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990 Israel
| | - Laura J. Fielden
- School of Science and Math; Truman State University; Kirksville MO 63501 USA
| | - A. Allan Degen
- Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture; French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands; Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Sede-Boqer Campus; Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990 Israel
| | - Boris R. Krasnov
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology; Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research; Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Sede-Boqer Campus; Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990 Israel
| |
Collapse
|