Abstract:
:The risk of parasitism is considered to be a general cost of sociality and individuals living in larger groups are typically considered to be more likely to be infected with parasites. However, contradictory results have been reported for the relationship between group size and infection by directly transmitted parasites. We used independent contrasts to examine the relationship between an index of sociality in rodents and the diversity of their macroparasites (helminths and arthropods such as fleas, ticks, suckling lice and mesostigmatid mites). We found that the species richness of directly transmitted ectoparasites, but not endoparasites, decreased significantly with the level of rodent sociality. A greater homogeneity in the biotic environment (i.e. a reduced number of cohabiting host species) of the more social species may have reduced ectoparasites' diversity by impairing ectoparasites transmission and exchange. Our finding may also result from beneficial outcomes of social living that include behavioural defences, like allogrooming, and the increased avoidance of parasites through dilution effects.
journal_name
Biol Lettjournal_title
Biology lettersauthors
Bordes F,Blumstein DT,Morand Sdoi
10.1098/rsbl.2007.0393subject
Has Abstractpub_date
2007-12-22 00:00:00pages
692-4issue
6eissn
1744-9561issn
1744-957Xpii
M500W17845675731journal_volume
3pub_type
杂志文章相关文献
Biology Letters文献大全abstract::Regressive evolution of structures associated with vision in cave-dwelling organisms is the focus of intense research. Most work has focused on differences between extreme visual phenotypes: sighted, surface animals and their completely blind, cave-dwelling counterparts. We suggest that troglodytic systems, comprising...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0549
更新日期:2010-02-23 00:00:00
abstract::Does a dysfunction in the mirror neuron system (MNS) underlie the social symptoms defining autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Research suggests that the MNS matches observed actions to motor plans for similar actions, and that these motor plans include directions for predictive eye movements when observing goal-directed ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0897
更新日期:2010-06-23 00:00:00
abstract::Males of the coqui treefrog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, produce a distinct two-note 'co-qui' advertisement call from sunset to midnight throughout most of the year. Previous work established that both the spectrotemporal aspects of the call and the frequency of highest inner-ear sensitivity change with altitude above se...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2017.0317
更新日期:2017-12-01 00:00:00
abstract::The muscles that effect lung ventilation are key to understanding the evolutionary constraints on animal form and function. Here, through electromyography, we demonstrate a newly discovered respiratory function for the iliocostalis muscle in the American alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis). The iliocostalis is act...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2019.0354
更新日期:2019-07-26 00:00:00
abstract::Negative effects of inbreeding are well documented in a wide range of animal taxa. Hatching success and survival of inbred offspring is reduced in many species and inbred progeny are often less attractive to potential mates. Thus, individuals should avoid mating with close kin. However, experimental evidence for inbre...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0432
更新日期:2006-06-22 00:00:00
abstract::Sexual conflict occurs when selection to maximize fitness in one sex does so at the expense of the other sex. In the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, repeated mating provides assurance of paternity at a direct cost to female reproductive productivity. To reduce this cost, females could choose males with low re...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.1064
更新日期:2016-03-01 00:00:00
abstract::Ecological resilience has become a focal concept in ecosystem management. Palaeoecological records (i.e. the sub-fossil remains preserved in sediments) are useful archives to address ecological resilience since they can be used to reconstruct long-term temporal variations in ecosystem properties. The special feature p...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2020.0881
更新日期:2021-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::During the course of a telemetry study on three species of Australian frogs (Litoria caerulea, Litoria dahlii and Cyclorana australis), we found that many of the surgically implanted transmitters had migrated into the bladder. We subsequently implanted small beads into L. caerulea and they were expelled from the body ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0877
更新日期:2011-06-23 00:00:00
abstract::Most songbirds learn their songs from adult tutors, who can be their father or other male conspecifics. However, the variables that control song learning in a natural social context are largely unknown. We investigated whether the time of hatching of male domesticated canaries has an impact on their song development a...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0522
更新日期:2015-08-01 00:00:00
abstract::Double cones (DCs) are the most common cone types in fish, reptiles and birds. It has been suggested that DCs are used for achromatic tasks such as luminance, motion and polarization vision. Here we show that a reef fish Rhinecanthus aculeatus can discriminate colours on the basis of the difference between the signals...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.1010
更新日期:2010-08-23 00:00:00
abstract::The outcomes of agonistic interactions modulate access to resources and thereby affect fitness. Success in agonistic encounters may depend on intrinsic physical and physiological performance, and on social experience. Here we test the hypothesis that previous experience will override physical strength in determining t...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0289
更新日期:2007-10-22 00:00:00
abstract::Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) colonized blue holes during the past approximately 15 000 years and exhibit relatively larger caudal regions in blue holes that contain piscivorous fish. It is hypothesized that larger caudal regions enhance fast-start escape performance and thus reflect an adaptation for avoidin...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0179
更新日期:2009-08-23 00:00:00
abstract::Partial migration occurs in many taxa and ecosystems and may confer survival benefits. Here, we use otolith chemistry data to determine whether fish from a large estuarine system were resident or migratory, and then examine whether contingents display differences in modelled growth based on changes in width of otolith...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0850
更新日期:2015-03-01 00:00:00
abstract::Infection density is among the most important factors for understanding the biological effects of Wolbachia and other endosymbionts on their hosts. To gain insight into the mechanisms of infection density regulation, we investigated the adzuki bean beetles Callosobruchus chinensis and their Wolbachia endosymbionts. Do...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0340
更新日期:2005-12-22 00:00:00
abstract::Migratory animals present a unique challenge for predicting population size because they are influenced by events in multiple stages of the annual cycle that are separated by large geographic distances. Here, we develop a model that incorporates non-fatal carry-over effects to predict changes in population size and sh...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0397
更新日期:2006-03-22 00:00:00
abstract::Antarctic krill embryos and larvae were experimentally exposed to 380 (control), 1000 and 2000 µatm pCO₂ in order to assess the possible impact of ocean acidification on early development of krill. No significant effects were detected on embryonic development or larval behaviour at 1000 µatm pCO₂; however, at 2000 µat...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0777
更新日期:2011-04-23 00:00:00
abstract::Plants under attack by pathogens and pests can mount a range of inducible defences, encompassing both chemical and structural changes. Although few reports exist, it appears that plants responding to pathogen or herbivore attack, or chemical defence elicitors, may produce progeny that are better able to defend themsel...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0416
更新日期:2012-10-23 00:00:00
abstract::Ejaculate attributes are important factors driving the probability of fertilizing eggs. When females mate with several males, competition between sperm to fertilize eggs should accentuate selection on ejaculate attributes. We tested this hypothesis in the North African houbara bustard ( Chlamydotis undulata undulata) ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2018.0889
更新日期:2019-03-29 00:00:00
abstract::Honeybees maintain their colony throughout the cold winters, a strategy that enables them to make the most of early spring flowers. During this period, their activity is mostly limited to thermoregulation, while foraging and brood rearing are stopped. Less is known about seasonal changes to the essential task of defen...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2018.0337
更新日期:2018-08-01 00:00:00
abstract::Unrelated same-sex individuals pairing together and cooperating to raise offspring over many years is a rare occurrence in the animal kingdom. Cooperative breeding, in which animals help raise offspring that are not their own, is often attributed to kin selection when individuals are related, or altruism when individu...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0191
更新日期:2008-08-23 00:00:00
abstract::A long-standing but controversial hypothesis assumes that carnivorous plants employ aggressive mimicry to increase their prey capture success. A possible mechanism is that pitcher plants use aggressive mimicry to deceive prey about the location of the pitcher's exit. Specifically, species from unrelated families sport...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0134
更新日期:2014-04-30 00:00:00
abstract::Male bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia form two levels of alliances; two to three males cooperate to herd individual females and teams of greater than three males compete with other groups for females. Previous observation suggested two alliance tactics: small four to six member teams of relatives th...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0852
更新日期:2011-08-23 00:00:00
abstract::Coral-associated invertebrates are the most significant contributors to the diversity of reef ecosystems, but no studies have examined how larvae manage to settle and grow in their coral hosts. Video recordings were used to document this process in the coral barnacle Darwiniella angularis associated with the coral Cyp...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0124
更新日期:2016-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::The hormone fluctuations that an animal experiences during ovulation can have lifelong effects on developing offspring. These hormones may act as an adaptive mechanism, allowing offspring to be 'pre-programmed' to survive in an unstable environment. Here, we used a transgenerational approach to examine the effects of ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0627
更新日期:2016-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::Studies of animal populations suggest that low genetic heterozygosity is an important risk factor for infection by a diverse range of pathogens, but relatively little research has looked to see whether similar patterns exist in humans. We have used microsatellite genome screen data for tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis and...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0133
更新日期:2009-08-23 00:00:00
abstract::Trace metals produced by anthropogenic activities are of major importance in urban areas and might constitute a new evolutionary force selecting for the ability to cope with their deleterious effects. Interestingly, melanin pigments are known to bind metal ions, thereby potentially sequestering them in inert body part...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0164
更新日期:2014-03-26 00:00:00
abstract::Pectinodontid limpets are important members of deep-sea hot vents and cold seeps as can be seen by their conspicuous presence in both extant and extinct systems. They have traditionally been classified into different genera and species based on shell and radula characteristics; the reliability of these characters has ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2019.0504
更新日期:2019-10-31 00:00:00
abstract::There is increasing evidence from non-human animals that males adjust their ejaculate expenditure according to the risk of sperm competition. In this study we show that, after controlling for lifestyle factors known to influence semen quality, human males viewing images depicting sperm competition had a higher percent...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0324
更新日期:2005-09-22 00:00:00
abstract::We tested whether the carbohydrate and amino acid content of extrafloral nectar affected prey choice by a predatory ant. Fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, were provided with artificial nectar that varied in the presence of carbohydrates and amino acids and were then provided with two prey items that differed in nutrition...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0736
更新日期:2010-04-23 00:00:00
abstract::Animal locomotion arises from complex interactions among sensory systems, processing of sensory information into patterns of motor output, the musculo-skeletal dynamics that follow motor stimulation, and the interaction of appendages and body parts with the environment. These processes conspire to produce motions and ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type:
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0294
更新日期:2010-06-23 00:00:00