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Host longevity and parasite species richness in mammals.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Cooper, N; Kamilar, JM; Nunn, CL
Published in: PloS one
January 2012

Hosts and parasites co-evolve, with each lineage exerting selective pressures on the other. Thus, parasites may influence host life-history characteristics, such as longevity, and simultaneously host life-history may influence parasite diversity. If parasite burden causes increased mortality, we expect a negative association between host longevity and parasite species richness. Alternatively, if long-lived species represent a more stable environment for parasite establishment, host longevity and parasite species richness may show a positive association. We tested these two opposing predictions in carnivores, primates and terrestrial ungulates using phylogenetic comparative methods and controlling for the potentially confounding effects of sampling effort and body mass. We also tested whether increased host longevity is associated with increased immunity, using white blood cell counts as a proxy for immune investment. Our analyses revealed weak relationships between parasite species richness and longevity. We found a significant negative relationship between longevity and parasite species richness for ungulates, but no significant associations in carnivores or primates. We also found no evidence for a relationship between immune investment and host longevity in any of our three groups. Our results suggest that greater parasite burden is linked to higher host mortality in ungulates. Thus, shorter-lived ungulates may be more vulnerable to disease outbreaks, which has implications for ungulate conservation, and may be applicable to other short-lived mammals.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

PloS one

DOI

EISSN

1932-6203

ISSN

1932-6203

Publication Date

January 2012

Volume

7

Issue

8

Start / End Page

e42190

Related Subject Headings

  • Species Specificity
  • Phylogeny
  • Parasites
  • Mammals
  • Longevity
  • Leukocyte Count
  • Least-Squares Analysis
  • Host-Parasite Interactions
  • General Science & Technology
  • Biodiversity
 

Citation

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Cooper, N., Kamilar, J. M., & Nunn, C. L. (2012). Host longevity and parasite species richness in mammals. PloS One, 7(8), e42190. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042190
Cooper, Natalie, Jason M. Kamilar, and Charles L. Nunn. “Host longevity and parasite species richness in mammals.PloS One 7, no. 8 (January 2012): e42190. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042190.
Cooper N, Kamilar JM, Nunn CL. Host longevity and parasite species richness in mammals. PloS one. 2012 Jan;7(8):e42190.
Cooper, Natalie, et al. “Host longevity and parasite species richness in mammals.PloS One, vol. 7, no. 8, Jan. 2012, p. e42190. Epmc, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0042190.
Cooper N, Kamilar JM, Nunn CL. Host longevity and parasite species richness in mammals. PloS one. 2012 Jan;7(8):e42190.

Published In

PloS one

DOI

EISSN

1932-6203

ISSN

1932-6203

Publication Date

January 2012

Volume

7

Issue

8

Start / End Page

e42190

Related Subject Headings

  • Species Specificity
  • Phylogeny
  • Parasites
  • Mammals
  • Longevity
  • Leukocyte Count
  • Least-Squares Analysis
  • Host-Parasite Interactions
  • General Science & Technology
  • Biodiversity