Biology Faculty Articles

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2022

Publication Title

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

Keywords

Toxoplasma gondii, Crocuta crocuta, Spotted hyena, Testosterone, Cortisol, Steroid hormones

ISSN

2213-2244

Volume

17

First Page

53

Last Page

59

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasite that infects warm-blooded animals and influences host physiology. T. gondii is known to target the host's central nervous system, affecting circulating levels of steroid hormones, fear-related behaviors, and health, although these effects appear to vary among host taxa. Here, we investigated the relationship between T. gondii infection and levels of plasma testosterone and cortisol within a wild population of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta, n = 109). In our analyses, we accounted for age and sex via stratified regression analyses. We detected a negative association between circulating plasma testosterone and T. gondii infection among female cubs and subadults as well as adult male hyenas. We found no associations between T. gondii infection and cortisol in any age class or sex group of hyenas. Our work adds to a growing body of literature by characterizing the relationship between T. gondii infection and physiology in a novel host in its natural habitat. In a broader context, our findings indicate that responses to infection vary with characteristics of the host and point to a clear need for additional studies and priorities for future work that include diverse taxa and ecological settings.

Comments

[Graphical Abstract]

ORCID ID

0000-0002-1270-6727

ResearcherID

J-8619-2012

DOI

10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.11.007

Peer Reviewed

Included in

Biology Commons

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.