Fig 1.
Daily mean preferred temperature of T. cruzi infected (red) or uninfected controls (blue) fourth instar nymphs of R. prolixus for each day after blood feeding.
The preferred temperature was significantly lower in infected insects compared to uninfected controls (t-value = 5.49, p = 3.98e-8, n = 40), and varied significantly across days (t-value = 6.31, p = 2.79e-10, n = 40) based on GLMM analysis. For readability, data from all times of day were pooled within each day. Error bars represent the standard error of the mean.
Fig 2.
Mean preferred temperature of R. prolixus for uninfected controls (A) and T. cruzi infected nymphs (B) at different times of day.
Data from all experimental days were pooled for each time of day for data visualization. Differences in preferred temperature between times of day and infection treatments were analyzed through GLMM. The preferred temperature of the T. cruzi infected group was significantly lower than that of the control group at all times of day except at 8h30, where no significant difference was observed between treatments. Letters indicate statistical groupings between times of day. Black and white bars represent the scotophase and photophase, respectively. Error bars represent the standard error of the mean, and n = 40.
Fig 3.
T. cruzi parasite concentration in macerated whole intestines of fifth instar nymphs of R. prolixus in fixed 26ºC and thermal choice treatments.
Individuals from the thermal choice treatment group exhibited significantly lower parasite concentrations at the end of the experiment compared to those in the fixed 26°C group (Wilcoxon rank-sum test: W = 166.5, p-value = 4.1e-2, n = 34). Error bars represent the standard error of the mean.
Fig 4.
The time from alimentation to molting of fourth instar nymphs of R. prolixus across experimental treatments.
Nymphs from both thermal choice groups (uninfected and infected) took significantly longer to molt compared to nymphs from the fixed 26°C infected treatment. Statistical comparisons: fixed 26°C infected vs. uninfected thermal choice (Wilcoxon rank-sum test: W = 589.5, p-value = 4.01e-5, n = 61); fixed 26°C infected vs. infected thermal choice (Wilcoxon rank-sum test: W = 42, p-value = 2.56e-8, n = 64).