Parasite intensity drives fetal development and sex allocation in a wild ungulate
Abstract An understanding of the mechanisms influencing prenatal characteristics is fundamental to comprehend the role of ecological and evolutionary processes behind survival and reproductive success in animals. Although the negative influence of parasites on host fitness is undisputable, we know v...
Published in: | Scientific Reports |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72376-x https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72376-x.pdf https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72376-x |
id |
crspringernat:10.1038/s41598-020-72376-x |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crspringernat:10.1038/s41598-020-72376-x 2023-05-15T15:07:56+02:00 Parasite intensity drives fetal development and sex allocation in a wild ungulate Aleuy, O. Alejandro Serrano, Emmanuel Ruckstuhl, Kathreen E. Hoberg, Eric P. Kutz, Susan Killam pre-doctoral Scholarship Program NSERC CREATE Host-Parasite Interaction Program Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), Ramon y Cajal agreement Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Beringian Coevolution Project (BCP), National Science Foundation NSERC Discovery grant NSERC Research Tools and Instruments 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72376-x https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72376-x.pdf https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72376-x en eng Springer Science and Business Media LLC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Scientific Reports volume 10, issue 1 ISSN 2045-2322 Multidisciplinary journal-article 2020 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72376-x 2022-01-04T13:31:19Z Abstract An understanding of the mechanisms influencing prenatal characteristics is fundamental to comprehend the role of ecological and evolutionary processes behind survival and reproductive success in animals. Although the negative influence of parasites on host fitness is undisputable, we know very little about how parasitic infection in reproductive females might influence prenatal factors such as fetal development and sex allocation. Using an archival collection of Dall’s sheep ( Ovis dalli dalli ), a capital breeder that depends on its body reserves to overcome the arctic winter, we investigated the direct and indirect impacts of the parasite community on fetal development and sex allocation. Using partial least squares modelling, we observed a negative effect of parasite community on fetal development, driven primarily by the nematode Marshallagia marshalli . Principal component analysis demonstrated that mothers with low parasite burden and in good body condition were more likely to have female versus male fetuses. This association was primarily driven by the indirect effect of M. marshalli on ewe body condition. Refining our knowledge of the direct and indirect impact that parasite communities can have on reproduction in mammals is critical for understanding the effects of infectious diseases on wildlife populations. This can be particularly relevant for species living in ecosystems sensitive to the effects of global climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Springer Nature (via Crossref) Arctic Scientific Reports 10 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Springer Nature (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crspringernat |
language |
English |
topic |
Multidisciplinary |
spellingShingle |
Multidisciplinary Aleuy, O. Alejandro Serrano, Emmanuel Ruckstuhl, Kathreen E. Hoberg, Eric P. Kutz, Susan Parasite intensity drives fetal development and sex allocation in a wild ungulate |
topic_facet |
Multidisciplinary |
description |
Abstract An understanding of the mechanisms influencing prenatal characteristics is fundamental to comprehend the role of ecological and evolutionary processes behind survival and reproductive success in animals. Although the negative influence of parasites on host fitness is undisputable, we know very little about how parasitic infection in reproductive females might influence prenatal factors such as fetal development and sex allocation. Using an archival collection of Dall’s sheep ( Ovis dalli dalli ), a capital breeder that depends on its body reserves to overcome the arctic winter, we investigated the direct and indirect impacts of the parasite community on fetal development and sex allocation. Using partial least squares modelling, we observed a negative effect of parasite community on fetal development, driven primarily by the nematode Marshallagia marshalli . Principal component analysis demonstrated that mothers with low parasite burden and in good body condition were more likely to have female versus male fetuses. This association was primarily driven by the indirect effect of M. marshalli on ewe body condition. Refining our knowledge of the direct and indirect impact that parasite communities can have on reproduction in mammals is critical for understanding the effects of infectious diseases on wildlife populations. This can be particularly relevant for species living in ecosystems sensitive to the effects of global climate change. |
author2 |
Killam pre-doctoral Scholarship Program NSERC CREATE Host-Parasite Interaction Program Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), Ramon y Cajal agreement Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Beringian Coevolution Project (BCP), National Science Foundation NSERC Discovery grant NSERC Research Tools and Instruments |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Aleuy, O. Alejandro Serrano, Emmanuel Ruckstuhl, Kathreen E. Hoberg, Eric P. Kutz, Susan |
author_facet |
Aleuy, O. Alejandro Serrano, Emmanuel Ruckstuhl, Kathreen E. Hoberg, Eric P. Kutz, Susan |
author_sort |
Aleuy, O. Alejandro |
title |
Parasite intensity drives fetal development and sex allocation in a wild ungulate |
title_short |
Parasite intensity drives fetal development and sex allocation in a wild ungulate |
title_full |
Parasite intensity drives fetal development and sex allocation in a wild ungulate |
title_fullStr |
Parasite intensity drives fetal development and sex allocation in a wild ungulate |
title_full_unstemmed |
Parasite intensity drives fetal development and sex allocation in a wild ungulate |
title_sort |
parasite intensity drives fetal development and sex allocation in a wild ungulate |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72376-x https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72376-x.pdf https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72376-x |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change |
op_source |
Scientific Reports volume 10, issue 1 ISSN 2045-2322 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72376-x |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766339354690584576 |