Mating strategies and multiple paternity, assessed by microsatellites, of the dispersal-limited, ectoparasitic tree-hole tick, Ixodes arboricola

Oosten, A. Raoul Van; Matthysen, Erik; Heylen, Dieter

doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.05.004

Cited by 5 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(101 reference statements)

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“…Investigating the sources of host variation is outside the scope of this study and will be reported elsewhere in more detail. Briefly, this variation could originate by intrinsic (permanent) host variation, by host condition at the moment of infestation (aside from batch effects common to all individuals, as described below), but also by variation in actual tick feeding density, that is, between birds in the number of ticks that actually attached (Wang et al 2001;Bartosik and Buczek 2012;Van Oosten et al 2016b). Surprisingly, batch effects were considerable despite highly standardized conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because I. arboricola may mate prior to feeding and multiple paternity is common (Van Oosten et al. 2016a), the number of fathers per clutch could have been one, two, or even more in case of pre‐engorgement mating.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following engorgement, the F0 females were allowed to mate with two randomly chosen males, to ensure a maximal set of fertilized clutches. Because I. arboricola may mate prior to feeding and multiple paternity is common (Van Oosten et al 2016a), the number of fathers per clutch could have been one, two, or even more in case of pre-engorgement mating.…”

Section: F0 Generationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the exception of the well-established positive correlation between adult female engorgement weight and clutch size (Gray 1981;Chen et al 2009;Ma et al 2013;Ginsberg et al 2016;Van Oosten et al 2016a), the fundamental relationships between phenotypic traits, individual fitness, and heritability have hardly been investigated in ticks. Most quantitative genetic research has rather focused on tick control and disease prevention, such as heritability of pesticide resistance (Li et al 2005;Fragoso-Sanchez et al 2011), susceptibility to infection (Young et al 1995), or heritability to cause paralysis (Lysyk 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some individual-based studies estimated heritability of a foraging phenotype in mites (Jia et al 2002;Nachappa et al 2010;Durkin and Luong 2018;Durkin and Luong 2019) and infectious behavior of ticks (Young et al 1995;Madder et al 1996;Li et al 2005;Lysyk 2010;Fragoso-Sanchez et al 2011) but we are not aware of any studies on individual traits and how they correlate with fitness. Obligate but nonpermanent ectoparasites such as mites and ticks provide an additional experimental advantage as they can be allowed to feed on hosts but can be monitored off-host for survival, development (e.g., molting), and reproduction (Van Oosten et al 2016a;Van Oosten et al 2018).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Predictors of individual performance and evolutionary potential of life‐history traits in a hematophagous ectoparasite

et al. 2022

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Little is known about the intraspecific variation of parasite life-history traits and how this variation may affect parasite fitness and evolution. We investigated how life-history traits predict success of individual tree-hole ticks Ixodes arboricola and estimated their evolutionary potential, as well as genetic correlations within stages and phenotypic correlations within and across stages. Ticks were followed individually over two generations while allowed to feed on great tits Parus major. After accounting for host and tick maternal effects, we found that short feeding times and high engorgement weights strongly increased molting success. Molting time was also positively correlated with feeding success in adults. In larvae and nymphs, we found negative phenotypic correlations between engorgement weight and both feeding and molting time, the latter supported by a negative genetic correlation. We found sex-related differences in feeding time (longer in male nymphs) and molting time (longer in male larvae but shorter in male nymphs). Also, time since the last feeding event (set experimentally) reduced larval and nymphal fitness, whereas it increased adult female fitness. Furthermore, we found significant heritability and evolvability, that is, the potential to respond to selection, for engorgement weight and molting time across all stages but no significant heritability for feeding time. Our findings suggest that variation in tick fitness is shaped by consistent individual differences in tick quality, for which engorgement weight is a good proxy, rather than by life-history trade-offs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: F0 Generationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predictors of individual performance and evolutionary potential of life‐history traits in a hematophagous ectoparasite

et al. 2022

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The influence of preprandial insemination on feeding and oviposition of Ixodes persulcatus females (Acari: Ixodidae) and some thoughts concerning mating strategies in ticks of the genus Ixodes

Ioffe-uspensky

Uspensky

2017

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

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Sex ratios of the tick Ixodes arboricola are strongly female-biased, but there are no indications of sex-distorting bacteria

Oosten

Duron

Heylen

2018

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

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Studies on sex ratio are of fundamental importance for understanding the biology of populations and biological control of pests and pathogens. In most Ixodes tick species, only females feed in the adult stage and, hence, contribute to pathogen transmission. The tree-hole tick Ixodes arboricola infests cavity-nesting birds and has limited dispersal possibilities. It plays an important role in the maintenance of zoonotic disease cycles. Here, we quantified the sex ratio of 718 adult I. arboricola ticks obtained from a laboratory stock at nine distinct periods (cohorts) from 2008 to 2015. In addition, we screened 93 specimens, collected from four study sites in 2011 and 2012, for the presence of six maternally inherited bacterial parasites known to manipulate arthropod sex ratios. We found significantly female-biased sex ratios in seven out of nine cohorts. There were no infections with members of the Wolbachia, Arsenophonus or Cardinium bacterial genera, whereas 96.8% of the screened ticks were infected with Rickettsia vini, 22.6% with Rickettsiella sp., and 14.0% with Spiroplasma ixodetis. Male and female I. arboricola were found equally infected. Our results suggest skewed sex ratios in I. arboricola are not caused by these bacterial infections, although there may be other, untested candidates driving sex ratios. Alternatively, female-biased sex ratios may be an adaptation in females to high local densities and low dispersal, where the production of daughters has a selective advantage because a few sons can fertilise all daughters.

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Mating strategies and multiple paternity, assessed by microsatellites, of the dispersal-limited, ectoparasitic tree-hole tick, Ixodes arboricola

Cited by 5 publications

References 53 publications

Predictors of individual performance and evolutionary potential of life‐history traits in a hematophagous ectoparasite

Predictors of individual performance and evolutionary potential of life‐history traits in a hematophagous ectoparasite

The influence of preprandial insemination on feeding and oviposition of Ixodes persulcatus females (Acari: Ixodidae) and some thoughts concerning mating strategies in ticks of the genus Ixodes

Sex ratios of the tick Ixodes arboricola are strongly female-biased, but there are no indications of sex-distorting bacteria

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