FEMALE BIASED PARASITISM AND THE IMPORTANCE OF HOST GENERATION OVERLAP IN A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED PARASITE OF BEETLES
FEMALE BIASED PARASITISM AND THE IMPORTANCE OF HOST GENERATION OVERLAP IN A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED PARASITE OF BEETLES
复制标题
甲虫性传播寄生虫中雌性偏寄生和宿主世代重叠的重要性
作者：
O. Seeman;H. Nahrung
性传播是一种广泛的感染方式，但除了人类之外，人们对性传播生物的生态学知之甚少。本研究对生活在农业金翅虫（鞘翅目：金翅虫科）鞘翅下的性传播螨Parobia humidi Seeman and Nahrung进行了生态学研究。每两年，每年春季开始，甲虫身上螨虫的流行率约为10-20%，到夏末逐渐增加到80-100%。在这个时候，成虫世代的重叠（即亲代与F1代交配）对这些螨虫的持久性至关重要。螨虫对甲虫的空间分布呈现时间变化；这些变化可能是对甲虫活动的反应（例如，从滞育中出现）以及从亲代甲虫向F1代甲虫扩散的需要。螨在雌虫身上的流行率和平均强度高于雄虫。性传播感染的女性倾向已经在动物中得到预测，但迄今为止只在灵长类动物中观察到。我们推测，不同的雄性寻找配偶的成功是螨虫感染的性别差异的原因，并且雌性在性传播疾病（STD）感染方面的偏见将在动物界广泛存在。
Sexual transmission is a widespread means of infection, but apart from those in humans, the ecology of sexually transmitted organisms is not well known. In this study, we present an ecological study of a sexually transmitted mite, Parobia husbandi Seeman and Nahrung (Acari: Podapolipidae), that lives beneath the elytra of Chrysophtharta agricola (Chapuis) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). In each of 2 yr, prevalence of mites on beetles began each spring at about 10–20% but gradually increased to 80–100% by late summer. Overlap of adult beetle generations at this time (i.e., the parental generation mating with the F1 generation) is essential for the persistence of these mites. Mites exhibited temporal change in their spatial distribution on beetles; these changes were probably a response to beetle activity (e.g., emergence from diapause) and the need for dispersal from parental to F1 generation beetles. Prevalence and mean intensity of mites was higher on female beetles compared with male beetles. Female bias of sexually transmitted infection has been predicted in animals but hitherto observed only in primates. We speculate that variable male mate-finding success is the cause of these sex-based differences of mite infections, and that female bias in sexually transmitted disease (STD) infection will be widespread in the animal kingdom.