PARENT SESSION
Oral Session # 59: Mutualism - Parasitism II: Animal and Insect.
Presiding: L Cochran-Stafira
Wednesday, August 6. 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM, SITCC Meeting Room 203.
Parasite regulation of a lizard population.
Salkeld, Dan*,1, 1 James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
ABSTRACT- Parasites can regulate host populations by reducing host survival and fecundity. I illustrate the impact of naturally occurring haemogregarines (parasitic protists) upon life history of the eastern water skink (Eulamprus quoyii), an Australian viviparous lizard. Using mark-recapture data, and the Anderson-Gordon model (1982), I show that haemogregarines do not affect survival of their skink hosts. However, fecundity is reduced by parasitic infection as heavily infected skinks produce smaller litters than skinks with small parasite loads. Poulin & Vickery (1996) suggest that parasites can also reduce fecundity by affecting female mate choice. The impact of protist infection upon lizard mating strategy (the extent of polygyny) is examined using evidence from microsatellite markers.
Key words: parasite, disease, fecundity, lizard