Sociality, exotic ectoparasites, and fitness in the plural breeding rodent <i>Octodon degus</i>

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dc.contributor.authorBurger, Joseph R.
dc.contributor.authorChesh, Adrian S.
dc.contributor.authorMunoz, Pamela
dc.contributor.authorFredes, Fernando
dc.contributor.authorEbensperger, Luis A.
dc.contributor.authorHayes, Loren D.
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-20T23:59:04Z
dc.date.available2025-01-20T23:59:04Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractSocial animals are susceptible to high infection levels by contact-transmitted parasites due to increased conspecific interaction. Exotic parasites are known to have adverse consequences on native hosts. We examined the relationship between social group size and exotic ectoparasite loads, and adult infection levels with per capita fitness and offspring survival in the plural breeding rodent Octodon degus in central Chile. Degus at our site were almost entirely infected by two exotic ectoparasites: the fleas Leptopsylla segnis and Xenopsylla cheopis. Neither group size nor number of females per group predicted the abundance of either exotic flea species. The per capita number of pups (per capita fitness) that emerged from burrow systems used by known social groups was negatively correlated with abundance of L. segnis but not X. cheopis. On adults, X. cheopis abundance was three times greater than L. segnis but was not significantly correlated with per capita fitness. In females, L. segnis abundance was negatively correlated with peak body mass during pregnancy. Adult ectoparasite load was not correlated with offspring survival. Based on these results, we hypothesize that high infection levels of L. segnis result in decreased reproductive fitness of adult female degus but are not a cost of sociality because parasite loads are not predicted by social group size. Further work is needed to experimentally test this hypothesis and to determine if L. segnis serves as a vector for a deleterious pathogen. Lastly, the lack of native ectoparasites may explain why a previous study at our site determined that behavioral adaptations needed to cope with high ectoparasite burdens (e. g., grooming) are not extensive in degus; they simply have not had the coevolutionary time needed for selection of these behaviors.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s00265-011-1252-9
dc.identifier.eissn1432-0762
dc.identifier.issn0340-5443
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-011-1252-9
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/95278
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000300247700006
dc.issue.numero1
dc.language.isoen
dc.pagina.final66
dc.pagina.inicio57
dc.revistaBehavioral ecology and sociobiology
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectCoevolution
dc.subjectEctoparasites
dc.subjectFitness
dc.subjectFleas
dc.subjectInvasive parasite
dc.subjectSociality
dc.subject.ods15 Life on Land
dc.subject.ods13 Climate Action
dc.subject.odspa15 Vida de ecosistemas terrestres
dc.subject.odspa13 Acción por el clima
dc.titleSociality, exotic ectoparasites, and fitness in the plural breeding rodent <i>Octodon degus</i>
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen66
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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