Sand-swimming behaviour reduces ectoparasitism in an iguanian lizard.

Ruiz, Emily J.; Gonzales, Wilfredo L.; Gianoli, Ernesto; Florian, Jose C.; Toyama, Ken S.

dc.contributor.author	Toyama, Ken S.
dc.contributor.author	Florian, Jose C.
dc.contributor.author	Ruiz, Emily J.
dc.contributor.author	Gonzales, Wilfredo L.
dc.contributor.author	Gianoli, Ernesto
dc.date.accessioned	2019-12-06T21:04:48Z
dc.date.available	2019-12-06T21:04:48Z
dc.date.issued	2019
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12866/7633
dc.description.abstract	Sand swimming behaviour occurs in several lizard clades. Known ecological advantages of sand swimming include reduced predation risk and enhanced thermoregulation. We addressed whether, by way of sand abrasion, sand-swimming reduces ectoparasitism in the lizard Microlophus occipitalis, whose natural habitat includes sandy substrates (beach) and firm soil (dry forest). We hypothesised that, aside from habitat differences in infestation probability, ectoparasite prevalence and load would be lower in the beach than in the forest because of ectoparasite removal caused by sand-swimming. In an experiment with lizards confined in boxes with substrate from both habitats, lizards in beach boxes showed a greater decrease in ectoparasite load compared with lizards in forest boxes. Ectoparasite prevalence and load were much higher in the forest than in the beach across seasons. Larger lizards showed higher ectoparasite loads, and there were no sex differences in ectoparasite infestation. We provide evidence that sand swimming may confer another ecological advantage to lizards: reduced ectoparasitism.	en_US
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.publisher	Springer
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Naturwissenschaften
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es
dc.subject	ectoparasite	en_US
dc.subject	Ectoparasites	en_US
dc.subject	habitat type	en_US
dc.subject	Iguania	en_US
dc.subject	lizard	en_US
dc.subject	Lizards	en_US
dc.subject	Microlophus	en_US
dc.subject	Microlophus occipitalis	en_US
dc.subject	parasite prevalence	en_US
dc.subject	predation risk	en_US
dc.subject	Sand-swimming	en_US
dc.subject	Squamata	en_US
dc.subject	swimming behavior	en_US
dc.subject	thermoregulation	en_US
dc.title	Sand-swimming behaviour reduces ectoparasitism in an iguanian lizard.	en_US
dc.type	info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.identifier.doi	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-019-1651-8
dc.subject.ocde	https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#1.06.13
dc.relation.issn	1432-1904