title: Morphological asymmetry and habitat quality: using fleas and their rodent hosts as a novel experimental system.
abstract: 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 generalistXenopsylla ramesisand host specialistParapulex 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 ofX. ramesisand in the tibiae ofP. chephrenisas well as significantly left-handed directional asymmetry in the femurs ofP. chephrenisHost species identity significantly impacted asymmetry in leg segments ofP. chephrenisbut not in those ofX. ramesisOffspring 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.
authors.affiliation: Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel warburte@post.bgu.ac.il.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8125-2741
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Warburton
authors.affiliation: Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel.
authors.forename: Irina S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Khokhlova
authors.affiliation: Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kiefer
authors.affiliation: Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel.
authors.forename: Boris R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Krasnov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D005121:Extremities / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005260:Female; D058267:Flea Infestations / Q000662:veterinary*; D005849:Gerbillinae / Q000469:parasitology; D058507:Host Specificity; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008297:Male; D009115:Muridae / Q000469:parasitology*; D051189:Murinae / Q000469:parasitology; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D058260:Xenopsylla / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Host switching; Parapulex chephrenis; Parasite; Rodentia; Siphonaptera; Xenopsylla ramesis