Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
We are sorry, but NCBI web applications do not support your browser and may not function properly. More information
    Parasitology. 2011 Nov;138(13):1804-14. doi: 10.1017/S003118201100028X. Epub 2011 Apr 20.

    Incorporating parasite systematics in comparative analyses of variation in spleen mass and testes sizes of rodents.

    Source

    Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, UMR 5554/226 UM2-CNRS-IRD, CC65, Université de Montpellier 2, F-34095 Montpellier, France.

    Abstract

    Parasite diversity is hypothesized to act on host life-history traits through investment in immunity. In order to incorporate the diversity of the parasite community that an individual host or a host species may face, two indices can be used: Taxonomic Species Richness and Taxonomic Entropy, where the taxonomic information is incorporated with the taxonomic weight. We tested whether these indices correlate with several morphological traits potentially implicated in immune defence and in reproduction, using data on gastrointestinal helminths and their rodent hosts sampled in Southeast Asia. We found no relationship between parasite diversity indices and either spleen mass or testes size at the intraspecific level, i.e. at the level of individuals. At the interspecific level, we found no relationship between the parasite diversity indices and testes size. However, we found that female spleen mass is significantly influenced by the specific species richness of parasites, whereas male spleen mass is influenced by individual mean parasite diversity indices. We concluded that female spleen mass may have evolved in response to gastrointestinal helminth pressure acting at species levels, while in males, the individual spleen mass could be constrained by other factors, such as the blood storage function of the spleen.

    PMID:
    21554839
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

      Supplemental Content

      Icon for Cambridge University Press

      Save items

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk