Animals routinely encounter environmental stressors and may employ phenotypic plasticity to compensate for the costs of these perturbations. Parasites represent an ecologically important stressor for animals, which may induce host plasticity. The present study examined the effects of a trematode parasite, Schistosomatium douthitti, on deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) physiology, behavior and energetics. Measures were taken to assess direct parasite pathology as well as potential host plasticity used to reduce the costs of these pathologies. Parasitized mice had increased liver and spleen masses, as well as decreased liver protein synthesis. Parasitism also led to increased gastrointestinal (GI) mass, either directly due to parasite presence or as host compensation for decreased GI function. No additional plasticity was recorded - infected animals did not consume more food, decrease in body mass or reduce their activity. Parasitism led to reduced thermoregulation during short-term cold exposure, indicating that there may be fitness costs of parasitism. There were no changes in the other measures of energetics taken here, namely basal metabolic rate (BMR) and cold-induced maximal metabolic rate (MR(max)). Together, the results suggest that many costs of parasite infection are largely ameliorated through physiological or morphological compensatory mechanisms.

译文

动物通常会遇到环境压力源,并可能采用表型可塑性来补偿这些扰动的成本。寄生虫是动物在生态上重要的应激源,可能会引起宿主的可塑性。本研究研究了吸虫寄生虫血吸虫对鹿鼠 (Peromyscus maniculatus) 生理,行为和能量的影响。已采取措施评估直接寄生虫病理以及潜在的宿主可塑性,以降低这些病理的成本。被寄生的小鼠肝脏和脾脏肿块增加,肝脏蛋白质合成减少。寄生还导致胃肠道 (GI) 质量增加,这直接归因于寄生虫的存在或作为宿主对GI功能降低的补偿。没有记录到其他可塑性-感染的动物没有食用更多的食物,体重减少或活动减少。寄生导致短期冷暴露期间温度调节降低,这表明寄生可能会产生适应性成本。此处采取的其他能量指标没有变化,即基础代谢率 (BMR) 和冷诱导的最大代谢率 (MR(max))。总之,结果表明,通过生理或形态补偿机制,寄生虫感染的许多成本在很大程度上得到改善。

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