Molecular Survey and Microscopic Examination of Haemoparasites Infecting Lizards from Morocco

Er-Rguibi, Omar; Harris, D. James; Aglagane, Abdessamad; Laghzaoui, El-Mustapha; Kimdil, Latifa; Abbad, Abdelaziz; Mouden, El Hassan El

doi:10.1007/s11686-023-00688-9

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Other studies have shown remarkable diversity between species of Hepatozoon that are morphologically very similar (Tomé et al, 2019), and suggested the existence of host-specific lineages of Hepatozoon (Maia et al, 2012). The widely used 18S rRNA gene fails to differentiate many cryptic haemogregarine lineages (Er-Rguibi et al, 2023;Maia et al, 2012), so although current evidence is that the same species of Hepatozoon infects both hosts, this has not been fully confirmed. The existence of unidentified host-specific lineages in the Moledo system could be an explanation for the difference in effect of parasite infection and even parasitaemia status between the two host species, but could only be assessed through the development and deployment of additional, more variable molecular markers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Impact of haemogregarine parasite infections on the behaviour of Podarcis lizards

Faria,

Harris

2024

Preprint

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Modern studies have shown how parasites add extra complexity to species interactions with their ecosystems by the way they affect their host. Haemogregarine parasites are common in lizards, although various studies have suggested varying degrees of repercussions for the host. In this study, we investigate effects of haemogregarine infection on the boldness and aggressiveness of male lizards of two sympatric species living in North Portugal: Podarcis bocagei and Podarcis lusitanicus, known hosts of haemogregarine and coccidian parasites. We used mirror interaction tests to assess aggressiveness, which did not identify any influence of the infection on either species. Boldness was evaluated through exploratory tests, with our results suggesting P. lusitanicus parasitized with Hepatozoon sp. alter their behaviour, with an increase in their exploratory activity and willingness to expose themselves for longer periods. Infection with Hepatozoon sp. appears to be enough to cause this abrupt behavioural change, independently of intensity of infection. These changes were only identified in P. lusitanicus, with P. bocagei maintaining their behaviour independently of infection status. Our results suggest a link between the observed behavioural changes for P. lusitanicus and thermoregulation, although further experiments to clarify this hypothesis are required.

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