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Fecundity compensation and fecundity reduction among populations of the three-spined stickleback infected by Schistocephalus solidus in Alaska

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2014

DAVID C. HEINS  and
JOHN A. BAKER
DAVID C. HEINS*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 400 Lindy Boggs Center, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA Department of Biology, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, USA
JOHN A. BAKER
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 400 Lindy Boggs Center, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA Department of Biology, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 400 Lindy Boggs Center, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA. E-mail: heins@tulane.edu
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Summary

We surveyed nine populations of the three-spined stickleback infected by the diphyllobothriidean cestode Schistocephalus solidus from south-central Alaska for two apparent forms of tolerance to infection in females capable of producing egg clutches notwithstanding large parasite burdens. Seven populations exhibited fecundity reduction, whereas two populations showed fecundity compensation. Our data suggest that fecundity reduction, a side effect resulting from nutrient theft, occurs in two phases of host response influenced by the parasite : host body mass (BM) ratio. The first is significantly reduced ovum mass without significant reduction in clutch size, and the second one involves significant reductions in both ovum mass and clutch size. Thus, ovum mass of host females who are functionally being starved through nutrient theft seems to be more readily influenced by parasitism and, therefore, decreased before clutch size is reduced. This inference is consistent with expectations based on the biology of and effect of feeding ration on reproduction in stickleback females. Fecundity compensation appears to be uncommon among populations of three-spined stickleback in Alaska and rare among populations throughout the northern hemisphere. Fecundity reduction seems to be common, at least among stickleback populations in Alaska.

Keywords

Castrationclutch sizefecundity compensationfecundity reductionparasitismSchistocephalus solidusthree-spined sticklebacktolerancetrade-offreproduction
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 141 , Issue 8 , July 2014 , pp. 1088 - 1096
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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