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As a result, we should expect that males with an increased testosterone level also possess a higher parasite load. However, previous empirical studies aimed to test this prediction have generated mixed results. Meanwhile, the effect of testosterone level on parasite load in female hosts remains poorly known.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      In this study, we tested this prediction by manipulating testosterone level in Daurian ground squirrels (\n                      <jats:italic>Spermophilus dauricus<\/jats:italic>\n                      ), a medium-sized rodent widely distributed in northeast Asia.\n                      <jats:italic>S. dauricus<\/jats:italic>\n                      is an important host of ticks and fleas and often viewed as a considerable reservoir of plague. Live-trapped\n                      <jats:italic>S. dauricus<\/jats:italic>\n                      were injected with either tea oil (control group) or testosterone (treatment group) and then released. A total of 10\u00a0days later, the rodents were recaptured and checked for ectoparasites. Fecal samples were also collected to measure testosterone level of each individual.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      We found that testosterone manipulation and sex of hosts interacted to affect tick load. At the end of the experiment, male squirrels subjected to testosterone implantation had an averagely higher tick load than males from the control group. However, this pattern was not found in females. Moreover, testosterone manipulation did not significantly affect flea load in\n                      <jats:italic>S. dauricus<\/jats:italic>\n                      .\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our results only lent limited support for the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis, suggesting that the role of testosterone on regulating parasite load is relatively complex, and may largely depend on parasite type and gender of hosts.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Graphical Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-024-06261-1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,30]],"date-time":"2024-03-30T06:01:47Z","timestamp":1711778507000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Complex effects of testosterone level on ectoparasite load in a ground squirrel: an experimental test for the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Li-Qing","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhi-Tao","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jian-Jun","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu-Han","family":"Fang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ke","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fu-Shun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ling-Ying","family":"Shuai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"6261_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biocon.2020.108596","author":"CJ Carlson","year":"2020","unstructured":"Carlson CJ, Hopkins S, Bell KC, Do\u00f1a J, Godfrey SS, Kwak ML, et\u00a0al. 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