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Transmission mode and distribution of parasites among groups of the social lizard Egernia stokesii

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Abstract

We explored patterns of infection of three apicomplexan blood parasites with different transmission mechanisms in 46 social groups across seven populations of the Australian lizard, Egernia stokesii. There was higher aggregation of infections within social groups for Hemolivia, transmitted by ticks, and Schellackia, either tick-transmitted or directly transmitted from mother to offspring, than for Plasmodium, with more mobile dipteran vectors. Prevalence was not related to group size, proximity to other groups or spatial overlap with adjacent groups for any of the parasites. However, for Hemolivia, groups with higher levels of relatedness among adults had higher parasite prevalence. Living in social groups leads to higher risk of infection for parasites with low transmission mobility. An unanswered question is why so few lizard species tolerate these risks to form stable social aggregations.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by grants from the Australian Research Council. Dr. Cathy Smallridge helped with the identification of the blood parasites, and Phil Mayes, Aaron Fenner and Gary Hallas also helped with the research. Kylie Lange provided advice on statistical analysis. The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Flinders University Animal Welfare Committee in compliance with the Australian Code of Practice for the use of animals for scientific purposes.

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  1. Kris Murray

    Present address: Department of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4067, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University of South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia

    Stephanie S. Godfrey, C. Michael Bull, Kris Murray & Michael G. Gardner

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  1. Stephanie S. Godfrey
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  2. C. Michael Bull
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  3. Kris Murray
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  4. Michael G. Gardner
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Correspondence to C. Michael Bull.

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Godfrey, S.S., Bull, C.M., Murray, K. et al. Transmission mode and distribution of parasites among groups of the social lizard Egernia stokesii . Parasitol Res 99, 223–230 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-005-0120-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-005-0120-9

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