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LARVAL COMPETITION AFFECTS THE LIFE HISTORIES AND DISPERSAL BEHAVIOR OF AN AVIAN ECTOPARASITE
Author(s) -
Tripet Frédéric,
Jacot Alain,
Richner Heinz
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[0935:lcatlh]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , larva , ecology , competition (biology) , biology , zoology , demography , population , sociology
Dispersal has profound effects on parasite populations. Understanding the dispersal behavior of parasites is fundamental to our appreciation of their virulence, epidemiology, and host specificity. Very few host–parasite systems, however, allow for studying how parasites optimize their transmission rates. Here, we investigated the dispersal behavior of a common ectoparasite of European passerine birds, the flea Ceratophyllus gallinae . This flea primarily infests hole‐nesting species and breeds during its host's breeding season. Once the host leaves the nest, flea larvae build cocoons, pupate, and remain dormant before initiating their host search. There is considerable variation in the time at which they hatch and disperse from the nest boxes. Some offspring disperse before the hosts choose their nest sites at the beginning of the next breeding period, while others wait until after that stage to disperse. By experimentally manipulating the density of fleas in the nests of their breeding hosts we were able to investigate density‐dependent processes that would later affect the dispersal behavior of flea offspring. We found that the density of offspring in the nests was negatively correlated with the proportion of early‐dispersing individuals and negatively affected the phenotypic quality of dispersers. Flea offspring of poor phenotypic quality in terms of body size dispersed earlier and had lower potential fecundity than bigger individuals. In a laboratory experiment, we found that the intensity of larval competition strongly affected offspring development, body size at maturity, and overwintering capacity. Thus, in order to maximize their chance of transmission, C. gallinae individuals adjust their dispersal behavior according to their phenotypic quality. In this species, dispersal in time may be explained by the carryover effects of variation in the amount of competition experienced at the larval stage.