Positive co-occurrence of flea infestation at a low biological cost in two rodent hosts in the Canary archipelago
- 21 November 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Parasitology
- Vol. 141 (4), 511-521
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182013001753
Abstract
Non-random assemblages have been described as a common pattern of flea co-occurrence across mainland host species. However, to date, patterns of flea co-occurrence on islands are unknown. The present work investigates, on one hand, whether the decrease in the number of species on islands affects the pattern of flea co-occurrence, and on the other hand, how the cost of higher flea burdens affects host body mass. The study was carried out in the Canary Islands (Spain) using null models to analyse flea co-occurrence on Rattus rattus and Mus musculus. Results supported aggregation of flea species in Mus but not in Rattus, probably due to the relationship between abundance and both prevalence and intensity of infection of the main flea species parasitizing Mus. In addition, heavy individuals of both rodent species showed the highest flea burdens as well as higher species richness, probably due to the continued accumulation of fleas throughout life and/or immunological resistance mechanisms. Whatever the mechanisms involved, it is clear that co-occurrence and high parasite intensities do not imply a detrimental biological cost for the rodents of the Canary Islands.Keywords
This publication has 37 references indexed in Scilit:
- Tadpole co-occurrence in ponds: When do guilds and time matter?Acta Oecologica, 2011
- Bat fly species richness in Neotropical bats: correlations with host ecology and host brainOecologia, 2008
- Are ectoparasite communities structured? Species co‐occurrence, temporal variation and null modelsJournal of Animal Ecology, 2006
- Flea infestation and energy requirements of rodent hosts: are there general rules?Functional Ecology, 2006
- Ecological effects and distribution of invasive non‐native mammals on the Canary IslandsMammal Review, 2006
- Immune responses to fleas in two rodent species differing in natural prevalence of infestation and diversity of flea assemblagesZeitschrift für Parasitenkunde, 2004
- Model selection in ecology and evolutionTrends in Ecology & Evolution, 2004
- Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: A Practical Information-Theoretic ApproachThe Journal of Wildlife Management, 2003
- Mammal density and patterns of ectoparasite species richness and abundanceOecologia, 2002