File(s) under permanent embargo
Shoaling guppies evade predation but have deadlier parasites
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-23, 23:20 authored by Jason C Walsman, Mary J Janecka, David R Clark, Rachael D Kramp, Faith Rovenolt, Rebecca PatrickRebecca Patrick, Ryan S Mohammed, Mateusz Konczal, Clayton E Cressler, Jessica F StephensonParasites exploit hosts to replicate and transmit, but overexploitation kills both host and parasite. Predators may shift this cost-benefit balance by consuming infected hosts or changing host behaviour, but the strength of these effects remains unclear. Here we use field and lab data on Trinidadian guppies and their Gyrodactylus spp. parasites to show how differential predation pressure influences parasite virulence and transmission. We use an experimentally demonstrated virulence-transmission trade-off to parametrize a mathematical model in which host shoaling (as a means of anti-predator defence), increases contact rates and selects for higher virulence. Then we validate model predictions by collecting parasites from wild, Trinidadian populations; parasites from high-predation populations were more virulent in common gardens than those from low-predation populations. Broadly, our results indicate that reduced social contact selects against parasite virulence.
History
Journal
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTIONVolume
6Pagination
945-+Location
EnglandPublisher DOI
ISSN
2397-334XeISSN
2397-334XLanguage
EnglishPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalIssue
7Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIOUsage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Science & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineEcologyEvolutionary BiologyEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyLIFE-HISTORY EVOLUTIONPOECILIA-RETICULATATRINIDADIAN GUPPIESWILD POPULATIONSTRADE-OFFSVIRULENCEBEHAVIORMORTALITYSEXTRANSMISSIONAnimalsParasitesPoeciliaPredatory BehaviorInfectious DiseasesEmerging Infectious Diseases2.2 Factors relating to the physical environment2 AetiologyInfection
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC