Fitness consequences of host colonization in two generalist fleas: Context-dependency and the effect of spatial co-occurrence.

We studied the fitness consequences of colonizing a novel host by experimental lines of fleas (Synosternus cleopatrae and Xenopsylla ramesis) maintained for 18-22 generations on the principal or novel (sympatric or allopatric) hosts via number, developmental success and size of the offspring of the fleas exploiting these hosts. We asked whether (a) fitness on non-principal hosts increases after prolonged maintenance; (b) the colonization success depends on the spatial co-occurrence of a flea and a host and (c) colonization of a novel host is accompanied by a decreased ability to exploit an original host. The ability of fleas to colonize novel hosts differed between species, with S. cleopatrae, but not X. ramesis, increasing its offspring production on novel hosts. Spatial co-occurrence did not affect colonization success. Maintenance on an alternative host was not accompanied by decreased adaptation to the original host. When fleas returned to the original host, their reproductive output was higher than that of their ancestors. We conclude that the success of colonizing a novel host is (a) context-dependent and varies between flea and host species and (b) not accompanied by the loss of ability to exploit an ancestral host but may lead to an increase in this ability.

Colonization of a novel host by fleas: changes in egg production and egg size.

We studied the success of fleas, Synosternus cleopatrae and Xenopsylla ramesis, in switching to a novel host by establishing experimental lines maintained on different hosts for 18 generations. Fleas fed on principal (P-line) or novel hosts, either sympatric with (S-line) or allopatric to (A-line) a flea and its principal host, then we assessed their reproductive performance via the number and size of eggs. We compared reproductive performance between hosts within a line and between lines within a host asking: (a) whether fleas adapt to a novel host species after multiple generations; (b) if yes, whether the pattern of adaptation differs between novel host species sympatric with or allopatric to a flea and its principal host; and (c) adaptation to a novel host is accompanied with a loss of success in exploitation of an original host. Fleas from the S- and A-lines increased their egg production on a novel host (except X. ramesis from the S-line). S. cleopatrae from the S-line but not the A-line increased egg size on a novel host, whereas X. ramesis from the A-line but not the S-line produced larger eggs from a novel host. We found no indication of a loss of reproductive performance on the original host while adapting to a novel host. We conclude that fleas are able to switch rapidly to a new host with the pattern of a switch to either sympatric or an allopatric host depending on the identities of both flea and host species.

Ectoparasitism and stress hormones: strategy of host exploitation, common host-parasite history and energetics matter.

Parasites are thought to have numerous negative effects on their hosts. These negative effects may be associated with stress in a host. We evaluated the effects of four species of flea ectoparasites (Parapulex chephrenis, Synosternus cleopatrae, Xenopsylla conformis and Xenopsylla ramesis) on non-specific responses of eight species of rodents (Meriones crassus, Gerbillus dasyurus, Gerbillus andersoni, Gerbillus pyramidum, Gerbillus nanus, Acomys cahirinus, Acomys russatus and Mesocricetus auratus) and measured faecal glucocorticoid metabolites concentrations (FGMC) produced by the hosts. We found no effect of body mass of an individual rodent on FGMCs. Parasitism by fleas with a 'stay on the host body' exploitation strategy was associated with higher host FGMCs than parasitism by fleas that spent most of their life 'off-host'. FGMCs among rodents infested by the same flea species were correlated positively with the phylogenetic distance of a given rodent from the principal host of this flea; changes in FGMCs were lower in the host species more closely related to the flea's principal host. Changes in FMGCs of a host while parasitized were correlated with a host's change in body mass, where hosts that lost more body mass had higher FGMCs. Our results suggest that ectoparasitism can be stressful to their hosts. However, the occurrence of parasite-induced stress seems to depend on the identity of both host and parasite species and the evolutionary history of a host-parasite association. To our knowledge, this is the first multispecies study to evaluate the effect of ectoparasites on glucocorticoid hormones in small mammals.