科研之友
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摘要
Morphological asymmetry is widely used to measure developmental instability and higher levels of asymmetry often correlate with decreased mating success, increased inbreeding, increased stress and decreased habitat quality. We studied asymmetry and relationships between asymmetry and host identity in two flea species, host generalist Xenopsylla ramesis and host specialist Parapulex chephrenis, and asked: (1) what the level of asymmetry was in their femurs and tibiae; (2) which type of asymmetry predominates; and (3) whether fleas that fed on host species distantly related to their principal host species produced offspring that exhibited greater asymmetry compared with offspring of fleas that fed on their principal host species. We found fluctuating asymmetry in femurs and tibiae of X. ramesis and in the tibiae of P. chephrenis as well as significantly left-handed directional asymmetry in the femurs of P. chephrenis. Host species identity significantly impacted asymmetry in leg segments of P. chephrenis but not in those of X. ramesis. Offspring asymmetry increased when mother fleas fed on a host that was distantly related to the principal host. Fleas parasitizing multiple host species might compensate for developmental instability when utilizing a novel host species; therefore, host-switching events in host-specific parasites could be constrained by the relatedness between a novel and a principal host species.
- 出版日期2017-4-1
