Body size, not age, predicts parasite load in Clark’s Spiny Lizards (Sceloporus clarkii)

Abstract

Determining the factors that influence parasite load is a fundamental goal of parasitology. Body size often influences parasite load in reptiles, but it is unclear whether higher levels of parasitism are a result of greater surface area of individuals (a function of size) or of longer periods of exposure to parasites (a function of age). Using skeletochronology in a wild population of Clark’s Spiny Lizards (Sceloporus clarkii Baird and Girard, 1852), we tested the hypotheses that (i) larger individuals have higher parasite loads due to increased surface area available for colonization by parasites and their vectors and that (ii) older individuals have higher parasite loads because they have had longer exposure to parasites and their vectors. Males harboured more ectoparasites than females. Males and females differed in how body size influenced chigger (Acari: Trombiculidae) load; larger males harboured more chiggers than smaller males, but this was not the case in females. Age did not affect ectoparasite load in either sex. These results emphasize the importance of disentangling the effects of size and age in models of parasitism to gain a clearer understanding of intraspecific variation in parasite load.