Sex,age, spleen size,and kidney fat of red deer relative to infection intensities of the lungworm <Emphasis Type="Italic">Elaphostrongylus cervi</Emphasis> |
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Authors: | J Vicente L Pérez-Rodríguez C Gortazar |
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Institution: | (1) IREC Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo, s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain;(2) Ciudad Real Agricultural Engineering School (UCLM), Ronda de Calatrava 7, 13004 Ciudad Real, Spain;(3) Present address: Wildlife Disease Ecology Team, Central Science Laboratory, Tinkley Lane, Nympsfield, GL10 3UJ Gloucestershire, UK |
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Abstract: | We analyzed the relationships among spleen size, body condition (measured as kidney fat), and larval counts of the nematode
Elaphostrongylus cervi in red deer (Cervus elaphus). The aim was to investigate the interaction between host body condition and intensity of infection with parasites. As red
deer are highly polygynous, we also tested whether these relationships varied with sex and age of the hosts. Kidney fat and
spleen size were positively correlated in subadults (2–3 years old) and adults (>3 years old), but not in calves (<1 year
old) or yearlings (1–2 years old). Spleen size was negatively associated with nematode load in subadult females and in adult
males. These two age classes are potentially the most nutritionally stressed, as subadult hinds are still growing and often
engaging in rearing their first calf, and adult stags were sampled just after the rut, which is recognized as a substantial
energy drain in this age–sex class, as they compete to hold females during the mating season. Body condition related negatively
to parasite count only in adult males. In the context of red deer life history, these findings suggest that spleen size is
dependent on body condition and that it could be affected by variation in resource partitioning among immune defense, growth,
and reproductive effort in red deer. For the first time in a wild mammal, the spleen mass is shown to be positively related
to body condition and negatively related to parasite infection. We conclude that elucidating whether spleen mass reflects
immune defense investment or a measure of general body condition should contribute to understanding topical issues in mammal
ecology. |
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Keywords: | Body condition Deer Immune defense Mating system Polygyny Spleen mass |
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