Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Originally published in Science Express on 7 August 2008
Science 19 September 2008:
Vol. 321. no. 5896, pp. 1681 - 1682
DOI: 10.1126/science.1159466
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Parasite Treatment Affects Maternal Investment in Sons

T. E. Reed,1,2* F. Daunt,2 M. E. Hall,3{dagger} R. A. Phillips,4 S. Wanless,2 E. J. A. Cunningham1

Parasitism can be a major constraint on host condition and an important selective force. Theoretical and empirical evidence shows that maternal condition affects relative investment in sons and daughters; however, the effect of parasitism on sex ratio in vertebrates is seldom considered. We demonstrate experimentally that parasitism constrains the ability of mothers to rear sons in a long-lived seabird, the European shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis. The effect contributes to the decline in offspring survival as the breeding season progresses and hence has important population-level consequences for this, and potentially other, seasonal breeders.

1 Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK.
2 NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0QB, UK.
3 Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
4 British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.

{dagger} Present address: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: tomreed{at}u.washington.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Exploitation of secondary metabolites by animals: A response to homeostatic challenges.
J. S. Forbey, A. L. Harvey, M. A. Huffman, F. D. Provenza, R. Sullivan, and D. Tasdemir (2009)
Integr. Comp. Biol. 49, 314-328
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)