DOI: 10.5061/dryad.g4q84
title: Data from: Age-related effects of chronic hantavirus infection on female host fecundity

description: 1. Pathogens often cause detrimental effects to their hosts and,
 consequently, may influence host population dynamics that may, in turn,
 feed back to pathogen transmission dynamics. Understanding fitness effects
 of pathogens upon animal host populations can help to predict the risks
 that zoonotic pathogens pose to humans. 2. Here we determine whether
 chronic infection by Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) affects important
 fitness-related traits, namely the probability of breeding, reproductive
 effort and mother and offspring condition, in the bank vole (Myodes
 glareolus). Using 9 years empirical data in a PUUV endemic area in Central
 Finland, we found differences between reproductive characteristics of
 PUUV-infected and uninfected female bank voles. 3. Young infected females
 had a significantly higher, and old individuals lower, likelihood of
 reproducing than uninfected animals during the middle of the breeding
 season. The implication is that PUUV infection may have long-term
 deleterious effects that are observed at old age, while in young
 individuals, the infection may enhance breeding probability by directing
 resources towards current breeding. 4. Moreover, PUUV infection was
 related with the mother's body condition. Infected mothers were in
 poorer condition than uninfected mothers in the early breeding season, but
 were in better condition than uninfected mothers during the middle of the
 breeding season. Offspring body condition was positively associated with
 mother's body condition, which, in turn, was related to the PUUV
 infection status of the mother. 5. Our findings indicate that chronic
 infection may affect the reproduction of female hosts, but the effect is
 dependent on the host age. The effect of chronic hantavirus infection was
 small and density-independent and hence unlikely to contribute to the
 cyclic population dynamics of the host. However, the effects on a
 female's reproductive output might affect the abundance of young
 susceptible individuals in the population and hence influence the
 transmission and persistence of the pathogen. Although experimental and
 long-term capture–mark–recapture studies are required to further clarify
 the fitness effects of hantavirus infection and their consequences for
 pathogen dynamics, this study shows that the infection may have complex
 effects that are dependent on the age of the individual and the time of
 the breeding season.
description: Probability of breeding
 dataData on field captured
 female bank voles (n=890) to examine the breeding probability (BRED: 0=no,
 1=yes) including individual information PUUV infection status of the
 female (PUUV_INF: 0=uninfected, 1=infected) and head with (centred value
 over given period of breeding season), and population level information;
 the period of breeding season (season: 1=early, 2=mid, 3=late), the phase
 of vole cycle (cycle: 1= low phase, 2=increase phase, 3= peak phase) and
 random effect (random).probability_of_breeding.xlsxLitter dataBreeding characteristics of 225 reproduced females to examine the reproductive effort (RE), the postpartum condition of the mothers (mocond) and the average condition of offspring in the litter (pupcond), including variables PUUV infection status of the mother (PUUV_INF: 0=uninfected, 1=infected), postpartum head with (centred value), the number of offspring in the litter (litter_size), the period of breeding season (season: 1=early and 2=mid), the phase of vole cycle (cycle: 1= low phase, 2=increase phase, 3= peak phase) and random effect (random).Litter_data.xlsx