Person: Barrientos Yuste, Rafael
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First Name
Rafael
Last Name
Barrientos Yuste
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Ciencias Biológicas
Department
Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución
Area
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3 results
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Item Differential recovery ability from infections by two blood parasite genera in males of a Mediterranean lacertid lizard after an experimental translocation(Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A, 2023) Megía Palma, Rodrigo; Redondo, Lara; Blázquez Castro, Sara; Barrientos Yuste, RafaelDifferent blood parasites can co‐infect natural populations of lizards. However, our knowledge of the host's ability to recover from them (i.e., significantly reduce parasitemia levels) is scarce. This has interest from an ecological immunology perspective. Herein, we investigate the host recovery ability in males of the lizard Psammodromus algirus infected by parasite genera Schellackia and Karyolysus. The role of lizard hosts is dissimilar in the life cycle of these two parasites, and thus different immune control of the infections is expected by the vertebrate host. As Schellackia performs both sexual and asexual reproduction cycles in lizards, we expect a better immune control by its vertebrate hosts. On the contrary, Karyolysus performs sexual reproductive cycles in vectors, hence we expect lower immune control by the lizards. We carried out a reciprocal translocation experiment during the lizards’ mating season to evaluate both parasitemia and leukocyte profiles in male lizards, being one of the sampling plots close to a road with moderate traffic. These circumstances provide a combination of extrinsic (environmental stress) and intrinsic factors (reproductive vs. immune trade‐offs) that may influence host's recovery ability. We recaptured 33% of the lizards, with a similar proportion in control and translocated groups. Karyolysus infected 92.3% and Schellackia 38.5% of these lizards. Hosts demonstrated ability to significantly reduce parasitemia of Schellackia but not of Karyolysus. This suggests, in line with our predictions, a differential immune relationship of lizards with these parasites, at time that supports that parasites with different phylogenetic origins should be analyzed separately in investigations of their effects on hosts. Furthermore, lizards close to the road underwent a stronger upregulation of lymphocytes and monocytes when translocated far from the road, suggesting a putative greater exposure to pathogens in the latter area.Item Longitudinal effects of habitat quality, body condition, and parasites on colour patches of a multiornamented lizard(Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2022) Megía Palma, Rodrigo; Merino, Santiago; Barrientos Yuste, RafaelOntogeny is expected to be a determinant factor affecting production of colour patches in lizards, while immune challenges or sudden weight loss may impair the maintenance of pigment-based coloration within a breeding season. We translocated males of the lizard Psammodromus algirus between two sampling plots that differed in distance to a road, vegetation structure, and predator abundance. We analysed variation in spectral reflectance of their colour patches the same and the following year. The change in the reflectance of the lizard colour patches within the first breeding season was explained by the interaction between plot and treatment, but not body condition. The maintenance of the breeding coloration was impaired only in those males translocated close to the road, probably reflecting that it is a poor-quality habitat for P. algirus. The following year, lizards that produced a more elaborate coloration were those that increased their body condition and controlled some parasitic infections, although suffered an increase of others. This study shows that colour patch production is plastic in P. algirus. Lizards increasing parasites or losing weight reduced pigmentation, although habitat quality can cushion these negative effects on pigmentation. However, not all parasites constrain the investment in coloration. In fact, some increased in those lizards that allocated more pigments to colour patches. In conclusion, longitudinal studies following experimental manipulation can contribute to understand pigment allocation rules in lizards.Item Associated costs of mitigation-driven translocation in small lizards(Amphibia-Reptilia, 2021) Barrientos Yuste, Rafael; Megía Palma, RodrigoMitigation-driven translocations represent an increasingly common management solution to reduce animal mortality and habitat loss caused by human development. Although they currently outnumber other translocation types, there is a lack of scientific approaches to evaluate the outcome of this management tool. We designed an experimental translocation with two groups of translocated males and two of control males of a small (6-14 g) lizard (totaling 120 individuals). Our results suggest that translocated individuals covered longer distances (53 vs. 18 m) from their respective release points in one month (on average), although this distance diminished over time. Displacing longer distances was associated with a body condition impoverishment and an increase in parasitization by ectoparasites. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that finds a positive relationship between covering longer distances and an increase in the number of mites. This was also explained by the initial mite load that lizards had, suggesting that controlling the infestation by mites is energetically demanding for lizards, being traded by locomotor activity. At least for those individuals in poorer body condition, we recommend the implementation of soft release (gradually accustoming individuals to their new environment by previously releasing them into controlled conditions) and deparasitization before accomplishing a mitigationdriven translocation.