posted on 2018-02-27, 10:25authored byVíctor Argaez, Israel Solano-Zavaleta, J. Jaime Zúñiga-Vega
Tail autotomy is a common phenomenon in lizards that increases the chances
of immediate survival during a predation event or agonistic encounter. However,
despite short-term benefits, tail regeneration may also impose costs. Several
studies have demonstrated that tail loss compromises other vital functions such
as lipid storage, reproduction, and the immune system. Several lizard species
are hosts of mites and ticks. Here we evaluated in three lizard species from
the genus Sceloporus, whether
individuals that have lost their tails and invested energy in tail regeneration
are more susceptible to ectoparasites. Using a multimodel inference framework,
we examined if tail loss and regeneration, as well as sex, body condition, and
season (dry or rainy) predict ectoparasite load. Our results indicate that
investing energy and resources in tail regeneration compromises defence against
ectoparasites. These costs differed between sexes and among species. Overall,
ectoparasite load increases during the rainy season and is on average higher in
males. In S. grammicus, during the
rainy season, males with regenerated tails and in poor body condition had more
ectoparasites than males with intact tails in good body condition. In S. megalepidurus, we observed the same
effect during the rainy season but in females rather than males. In S. torquatus, we found no effect of tail
loss on ectoparasite load. We discuss the possibility that differences observed
among species reflect differences in both species-specific physiological
trade-offs and local environmental conditions