RT Journal Article
T1 Do sexual differences in life strategies make male lizards more susceptible to parasite infection?
A1 Megía Palma, Rodrigo Manuel
A1 Cuervo, José Javier
A1 Fitze, Patrick S.
A1 Martínez González, Francisco Javier
A1 Jiménez Robles, Octavio
A1 De la Riva, Ignacio
A1 Reguera Panizo, Senda
A1 Moreno-Rueda, Gregorio
A1 Blaimont, Pauline
A1 Kopena, Renata
A1 Barrientos Yuste, Rafael
A1 Martín, José
A1 Merino, Santiago
AB Female and male hosts may maximise their fitness by evolving different strategies to compensate for the costs of parasite infections. The resulting sexual dimorphism might be apparent in differential relationships between parasite load and body condition, potentially reflecting differences in energy allocation to anti-parasitic defences. For example, male lacertids with high body condition may produce many offspring while being intensely parasitised. In contrast, female lacertids may show a different outcome of the trade-offs between body condition and immunity, aiming to better protect themselves from the harm of parasites. We predicted that females would have fewer parasites than males and a lower body condition across parasitaemia levels because they would invest resources in parasite defence to mitigate the costs of infection. In contrast, the male strategy to maximise access to females would imply some level of parasite tolerance and, thus, higher parasitaemia. We analysed the relationship between the body condition of lizards and the parasitemias of Karyolysus and Schellackia, two genera of blood parasites with different phylogenetic origins, in 565 females and 899 males belonging to 10 species of the Lacertidae (Squamata). These lizards were sampled over a period of 12 years across 34 sampling sites in southwestern Europe. The results concerning the Karyolysus infections were consistent with the predictions, with males having similar body condition across parasitaemia levels even though they had higher infection intensities than females. On the other hand, females with higher levels of Karyolysus parasitaemia had lower body condition. This is consistent with the prediction that different life strategies of male and female lacertids can explain the infection patterns of Karyolysus. In contrast, the parasitaemia of Schellackia was consistently low in both male and female hosts, with no significant effect on the body condition of lizards. This suggests that lizards of both sexes maintain this parasite below a pathogenic threshold.
PB John Wiley & Sons
SN 0021-8790
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/112669
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/112669
LA eng
NO Megía-Palma, R., Cuervo, J. J., Fitze, P. S., Martínez, J., Jiménez-Robles, O., De la Riva, I., Reguera, S., Moreno-Rueda, G., Blaimont, P., Kopena, R., Barrientos, R., Martín, J., & Merino, S. (2024). Do sexual differences in life strategies make male lizards more susceptible to parasite infection? Journal of Animal Ecology, 93, 1338–1350. https:// doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14154
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
NO European Commission
NO Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia  (España)
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 14 jun 2026