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Chronic parasitic infection alters reproductive output in deer mice

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Abstract

Parasitized animals may alter their life histories to minimize the costs of parasitism. Organisms are predicted to decrease investment in current reproduction when parasitism has the greatest impact on current reproductive ability. In contrast, if parasitism decreases residual reproductive value, hosts should increase current reproductive investment, referred to as fecundity compensation or terminal investment. In mammalian hosts, parasitic infection most often leads to reductions in current host reproduction, perhaps attributable to the emphasis on parasites that are unlikely to impact the host’s residual reproductive value. In this study, the life history response of a rodent, Peromyscus maniculatus, to infection with a parasite that should strongly impact the residual reproductive value of its host (Schistosomatium douthitti, Trematoda) was examined. Infection decreased survival for hosts exposed to a high dose of parasites and was chronic in survivors, confirming that infection had strong impacts for the residual reproductive value of the host. As predicted, infected mice increased their reproductive output, producing litters of greater mass due to heavier offspring. However, this increased output was observed after a greater delay to begin breeding in infected mice and was not observed in animals that suffered early mortality. The deer mouse S. douthitti system may provide a rare example of fecundity compensation in mammals.

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Acknowledgements

Deer mice were provided by B. Hjelle (UNM MTA). Snails and S. douthitti were provided courtesy of D. Daniell (Butler University). L. Hertel and E. S. Loker kindly provided materials and training for parasitology techniques, and R. Ricci and F. Gurule provided all animal care. I thank H. Lease, E. Schultz, D. Swenton, C. Tech, and R. Ricci for assistance with data collection. Many people provided advice and assistance on the design and implementation of this study, discussion of the results, and improvements to this manuscript including J. Bragg, J. Brown, E. Charnov, D. Daniell, M. Festa-Bianchet, A. Kodric-Brown, D. Kristan, L. Hertel, E. Loker, R. Ricci, members of the Kodric-Brown and Loker Labs, and several anonymous reviewers. Funding was provided by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

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  1. Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA

    Lisa E. Schwanz

  2. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Lisa E. Schwanz

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Correspondence to Lisa E. Schwanz.

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Communicated by P. Heeb

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Schwanz, L.E. Chronic parasitic infection alters reproductive output in deer mice. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62, 1351–1358 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-008-0563-y

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