Sex-dependent effects of infection on guppy reproductive fitness and offspring parasite resistance.

ABSTRACT: Infection imposes energetic costs on hosts. Hosts typically respond by shifting resources, potentially affecting the quantity and quality of offspring they produce. As the sexes differ in their optimal reproductive strategies, the infection of mothers versus fathers may affect offspring quantity and quality in different ways. Here, we test how experimental infection of guppies Poecilia reticulata with the ectoparasite Gyrodactylus turnbulli affects parental reproductive fitness and offspring parasite resistance. We compared breeding pairs in which one or neither parent had previously been infected. In terms of reproductive fitness, pairs in which fathers had been infected produced more offspring than those in which mothers had been infected. Additionally, fathers who experienced the heavie

SUBMITTER: Weiler ILG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11962226 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature