title: Negative effect of the arthropod parasite, Sarcoptes scabiei, on testes mass in Iberian ibex, Capra pyrenaica.
abstract: Testes mass is a key factor in male reproductive success and is potentially exposed to so-called 'parasitic castration'. This is the result of the direct destruction or alteration of reproductive cell lineages (parasitic castration sensu stricto), or the indirect detrimental effects - for example, via body condition - on the ability of progenitors to produce or rear offspring (parasitic castration sensu lato). There are enormous gaps in our knowledge on the effects of parasites on the testes of wild mammals and in an attempt to rectify this dearth of data we examined the relationship between the skin parasite Sarcoptes scabiei and testes mass in Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica. We considered data from 222 males that were culled in the population from the Sierra Nevada in Spain. Our results provide evidence that sarcoptic mange is associated with reduced size-corrected testes mass in Iberian ibex which supports the hypothesis that parasitism is a determining factor in gonad plasticity in male mammals. We discuss several hypothetical causes of this relationship and highlight the need to deepen the sub-lethal effects of pathogens if we are to accurately understand their modulator effects on host population dynamics.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Animal, Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaén, E-23071 Jaén, Spain. mathieusar@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarasa
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Serrano
authors.forename: Ramón C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Soriguer
authors.forename: José-Enrique
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Granados
authors.forename: Paulino
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fandos
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Joachim
authors.forename: Jesús M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pérez
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D006041:Goats / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012520:Sarcoptes scabiei / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D012532:Scabies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012621:Seasons; D012867:Skin / Q000469:parasitology; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D013737:Testis / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000469:parasitology