Direct and indirect costs of parasitism preceding a population decline of an Arctic ungulate
Dickinson, Eleanor R. (University of Calgary. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine)
Nwafor-Okoli, Chinyere (University of Calgary. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine)
Checkley, Sylvia L. (University of Calgary. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine)
Elkin, Brett (Government of the Northwest Territories. Environment and Natural Resources)
Branigan, Marsha (Government of the Northwest Territories. Environment and Natural Resources)
Serrano Ferron, Emmanuel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals)
Kutz, Susan J. (University of Calgary. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine)

Date:	2024
Abstract:	Parasites negatively affect the fitness of ungulate hosts directly, and in wild ungulates, these effects may be synzootic with other stressors, such as limited nutritional resources. In the Arctic, muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) occur in a highly seasonal environment and must rely on finite energetic resources for survival and productivity. We investigated the costs of gastrointestinal nematodes on the body condition and reproductive status of 141 muskoxen, on Banks Island, Canada, when the population was at a peak in numbers and density. Using a Partial Least Squares Path Modelling approach, we found that high adult nematode abundance was associated with lower body condition, and high parasite abundance was associated with female reproduction including the indirect effect through on body condition (n = 87). These findings suggest that individuals prioritize energetic reserves for reproduction over parasite defence. In fall 2003, a severe icing event that restricted access to forage was associated with high overwinter mortality of muskoxen and a population crash. Through direct and indirect costs of parasite infection on body condition and reproduction, the high abundance of parasites may have contributed to the effects of this extreme weather event. Understanding the mechanisms in which parasites impact fitness can help explain the ecological drivers of ungulate populations and predict the interactions between the environment and populations.
Grants:	Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad RYC-2016-21120
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Reproduction ; Body condition ; Ovibos moschatus ; Marshallagia marshalli ; Teladorsagia boreoarcticus ; Abomasum ; Gastrointestinal nematodes ; Fitness ; Parasitology ; Conservation biology
Published in:	Scientific reports, Vol. 14 (july 2024) , ISSN 2045-2322

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-67904-y
PMID: 39054352

14 p, 2.6 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Research group Wildlife Ecology & Health
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles