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Summary: Associations between host migration and the
prevalence of a protozoan parasite in natural
populations of adult monarch butter¯ies
S O N I A M . A L T I Z E R , 1
K A R E N S . O B E R H A U S E R 1
and
L I N C O L N P . B R O W E R 2 1
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota and
2
University of Florida and Department of Biology, Sweet Briar College, Virginia, U.S.A.
Abstract. 1. Monarch butter¯ies Danaus plexippus (L.) (Lepidoptera:
Nymphalidae) are susceptible to infection by the obligate protozoan parasite
Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (McLaughlin and Myers) (Apicomplexa:
Neogregarinida). Because monarchs form resident and migratory populations in
different parts of the world, this host±parasite system provides the opportunity to
examine how variation in parasite prevalence relates to host movement patterns.
2. Parasite prevalence was evaluated using 14 790 adult monarchs captured
between 1968 and 1997. Comparison of three populations in North America
indicated that parasite prevalence is associated negatively with host dispersal
distances. A continuously breeding, nonmigratory population in southern Florida
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