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Intraspecific variation of body size in fleas: effects of host sex and flea phenology

  • Arthropods and Medical Entomology - Original Paper
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Abstract

We investigated the effects of host sex and flea phenology (estimated as periods of high versus low abundance) on individual body size in four fleas of small mammals. Amalaraeus penicilliger and Ctenophthalmus uncinatus are ectoparasites of the bank vole Myodes glareolus, whereas Doratopsylla dasycnema and Palaeopsylla soricis are ectoparasites of the common shrew Sorex araneus. We found significant effects of host sex and phenology on the body size of all flea species, although there was no general trend in the directions of these effects. Larger A. penicilliger were found on female hosts, whereas larger P. soricis were found on male hosts. In the remaining species, larger fleas were collected from male hosts during periods of high abundance (male C. uncinatus and female D. dasycnema) and from female hosts during periods of low abundance (male C. uncinatus). Regarding phenology, larger fleas were recorded during periods of either high (A. penicilliger, C. uncinatus, D. dasycnema) or low (C. uncinatus, P. soricis) abundance, but this depended on flea and/or host sex. We conclude that the directions of the host sex and phenology effects varied between flea species. Furthermore, the direction of the host sex effect was mediated by the effect of phenology and vice versa.

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Acknowledgements

This is publication no. 1085 of the Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology.

Funding

This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant no. 19-04-00759 to SGM) and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (project no. АААА-А19-119020790133-6 to SGM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Sergei G. Medvedev & Nikolai V. Sedikhin

  2. Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Sede Boqer Campus, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 8499000, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel

    Boris R. Krasnov

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  1. Sergei G. Medvedev
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  2. Nikolai V. Sedikhin
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Correspondence to Boris R. Krasnov.

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This article relies on previously collected data deposited at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Saint Petersburg, Russia) and does not contain experiments with human participants or animals. For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

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Medvedev, S.G., Sedikhin, N.V. & Krasnov, B.R. Intraspecific variation of body size in fleas: effects of host sex and flea phenology. Parasitol Res 119, 3211–3220 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06867-1

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