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Personality predicts ectoparasite abundance in an asocial sciurid
Author(s) -
Bohn Shelby J.,
Webber Quinn M. R.,
Florko Katie R. N.,
Paslawski Katlyn R.,
Peterson Amelia M.,
Piche Julia E.,
Menzies Allyson K.,
Willis Craig K. R.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
ethology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.739
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-0310
pISSN - 0179-1613
DOI - 10.1111/eth.12651
Subject(s) - personality , biology , context (archaeology) , parasitism , abundance (ecology) , host (biology) , big five personality traits , sociality , parasite hosting , ecology , zoology , psychology , social psychology , paleontology , world wide web , computer science
Parasitism is a consequence of complex interactions between host, parasite, and their shared environment, and host behavior can influence parasite risk. Animal personality (i.e., consistent behavioral differences that are repeatable across time and context) can influence parasitism with more explorative individuals typically hosting greater parasite loads. Host “sociality” is known to impact parasite risk with more social individuals typically at higher risk of acquiring or transmitting parasites, but other behaviors could also be important. We quantified personality in least chipmunks ( Tamias minimus ), including repeatability of behavioral traits, and determined whether these personality traits affected ectoparasite prevalence and abundance. We measured personality using standardized hole‐board tests and quantified ectoparasitism of 39 least chipmunks over 2 years at a site in southeastern Manitoba, Canada. We found that activity and exploration were repeatable within the context of the hole‐board test for least chipmunks, which suggests that these traits reflect personality. More exploratory individuals hosted a greater abundance of ectoparasites compared to less exploratory individuals. Our results are consistent with past studies implicating personality as a factor in host–parasite dynamics and suggest that exploration may be an important behavioral correlate of parasite acquisition.