Ecto- and endoparasites of the King's skink (Egernia kingii) on Penguin Island
Wildlife species are often host to a diversity of parasites, but our knowledge of their diversity and ecology is extremely limited, especially for reptiles. Little is known about the host-parasite ecology of the Australian lizard, the King's skink (Egernia kingii). In spring of 2015, we carried...
Main Authors: | , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/56390/ |
id |
ftmurdochuniv:oai:researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au:56390 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftmurdochuniv:oai:researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au:56390 2023-05-15T17:55:06+02:00 Ecto- and endoparasites of the King's skink (Egernia kingii) on Penguin Island Stampe, K. Larsen, O.N. Godfrey, S.S. 2020 https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/56390/ eng eng Cambridge University Press https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/56390/ full_text_status:none © 2020 The Authors Stampe, K., Larsen, O.N. and Godfrey, S.S. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Godfrey, Stephanie.html> (2020) Ecto- and endoparasites of the King's skink (Egernia kingii) on Penguin Island. Parasitology, 147 (10). pp. 1094-1099. Journal Article 2020 ftmurdochuniv 2020-08-17T22:26:26Z Wildlife species are often host to a diversity of parasites, but our knowledge of their diversity and ecology is extremely limited, especially for reptiles. Little is known about the host-parasite ecology of the Australian lizard, the King's skink (Egernia kingii). In spring of 2015, we carried out a field-based study of a population of King's skinks on Penguin Island (Western Australia). We documented five species of parasites, including two ectoparasitic mites (an undescribed laelapid mite and Mesolaelaps australiensis), an undescribed coccidia species, and two nematode species (Pharyngodon tiliquae and Capillaria sp.). The laelapid mite was the most abundant parasite, infesting 46.9% of the 113 captured lizards. This mite species increased in prevalence and abundance over the course of the study. Infection patterns of both mites varied with lizard life-stage; sub-adults were more commonly infested with laelapid mites than adults or juveniles, and sub-adults and adults were infested by more laelapid mites than juveniles. By contrast, adults had a higher prevalence of M. australiensis than juveniles or sub-adults. Among the gastrointestinal parasites, P. tiliquae was relatively common among the sampled lizards (35.3%). These results give new important information about reptiles as parasite hosts and what factors influence infection patterns. Article in Journal/Newspaper Penguin Island Mite Murdoch University: Murdoch Research Repository Penguin Island ENVELOPE(-57.926,-57.926,-62.102,-62.102) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Murdoch University: Murdoch Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftmurdochuniv |
language |
English |
description |
Wildlife species are often host to a diversity of parasites, but our knowledge of their diversity and ecology is extremely limited, especially for reptiles. Little is known about the host-parasite ecology of the Australian lizard, the King's skink (Egernia kingii). In spring of 2015, we carried out a field-based study of a population of King's skinks on Penguin Island (Western Australia). We documented five species of parasites, including two ectoparasitic mites (an undescribed laelapid mite and Mesolaelaps australiensis), an undescribed coccidia species, and two nematode species (Pharyngodon tiliquae and Capillaria sp.). The laelapid mite was the most abundant parasite, infesting 46.9% of the 113 captured lizards. This mite species increased in prevalence and abundance over the course of the study. Infection patterns of both mites varied with lizard life-stage; sub-adults were more commonly infested with laelapid mites than adults or juveniles, and sub-adults and adults were infested by more laelapid mites than juveniles. By contrast, adults had a higher prevalence of M. australiensis than juveniles or sub-adults. Among the gastrointestinal parasites, P. tiliquae was relatively common among the sampled lizards (35.3%). These results give new important information about reptiles as parasite hosts and what factors influence infection patterns. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stampe, K. Larsen, O.N. Godfrey, S.S. |
spellingShingle |
Stampe, K. Larsen, O.N. Godfrey, S.S. Ecto- and endoparasites of the King's skink (Egernia kingii) on Penguin Island |
author_facet |
Stampe, K. Larsen, O.N. Godfrey, S.S. |
author_sort |
Stampe, K. |
title |
Ecto- and endoparasites of the King's skink (Egernia kingii) on Penguin Island |
title_short |
Ecto- and endoparasites of the King's skink (Egernia kingii) on Penguin Island |
title_full |
Ecto- and endoparasites of the King's skink (Egernia kingii) on Penguin Island |
title_fullStr |
Ecto- and endoparasites of the King's skink (Egernia kingii) on Penguin Island |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ecto- and endoparasites of the King's skink (Egernia kingii) on Penguin Island |
title_sort |
ecto- and endoparasites of the king's skink (egernia kingii) on penguin island |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/56390/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-57.926,-57.926,-62.102,-62.102) |
geographic |
Penguin Island |
geographic_facet |
Penguin Island |
genre |
Penguin Island Mite |
genre_facet |
Penguin Island Mite |
op_source |
Stampe, K., Larsen, O.N. and Godfrey, S.S. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Godfrey, Stephanie.html> (2020) Ecto- and endoparasites of the King's skink (Egernia kingii) on Penguin Island. Parasitology, 147 (10). pp. 1094-1099. |
op_relation |
https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/56390/ full_text_status:none |
op_rights |
© 2020 The Authors |
_version_ |
1766162969938362368 |