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Parasite-mediated reductions in the survival and reproduction of the backswimmer Buenoa scimitra (Hemiptera: Notonectidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Carmine A. Lanciani
Carmine A. Lanciani
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611
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Extract

The effect of the parasitic water mite Hydrachna virella on its host Buenoa scimitra was investigated using laboratory experiments. The mite parasitizes all but the first instar of the host. Survival rates were found to be greater among unparasitized than parasitized individuals of these instars. Instantaneous death rates were observed to be linear functions of the number of mites supported/host. The mite's effect on the host's death rate appeared to be directly related to the size of the engorged mite compared to the size of the host; greater relative sizes were associated with greater impacts. Unparasitized females oviposited significantly more eggs than parasitized females, and the instantaneous birth rate of the host was observed to be a non-linear function of mite load.

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 85 , Issue 3 , December 1982 , pp. 593 - 603
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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