0000000000149548
AUTHOR
Nicolas Kaldonski
Carotenoid-based colour of acanthocephalan cystacanths plays no role in host manipulation.
Manipulation by parasites is a catchy concept that has been applied to a large range of phenotypic alterations brought about by parasites in their hosts. It has, for instance, been suggested that the carotenoid-based colour of acanthocephalan cystacanths is adaptive through increasing the conspicuousness of infected intermediate hosts and, hence, their vulnerability to appropriate final hosts such as fish predators. We revisited the evidence in favour of adaptive coloration of acanthocephalan parasites in relation to increased trophic transmission using the crustacean amphipodGammarus pulexand two species of acanthocephalans,Pomphorhynchus laevisandPolymorphus minutus. Both species show car…
Infection with acanthocephalans increases the vulnerability of Gammarus pulex (Crustacea, Amphipoda) to non-host invertebrate predators.
SUMMARYPhenotypic alterations induced by parasites in their intermediate hosts often result in enhanced trophic transmission to appropriate final hosts. However, such alterations may also increase the vulnerability of intermediate hosts to predation by non-host species. We studied the influence of both infection with 3 different acanthocephalan parasites (Pomphorhynchus laevis, P. tereticollis, and Polymorphus minutus) and the availability of refuges on the susceptibility of the amphipod Gammarus pulex to predation by 2 non-host predators in microcosms. Only infection with P. laevis increased the vulnerability of amphipods to predation by crayfish, Orconectes limosus. In contrast, in the ab…
Spines and behaviour as defences against fish predators in an invasive freshwater amphipod.
7 pages; International audience; Selective predation may be an important proximate cause of the success or failure of invader species. Gammarus roeseli is an invasive amphipod, for which the causes of establishment in rivers where the native species, Gammarus pulex, predominates remain unstudied. Freshwater amphipods are important prey for numerous fish predators, but empirical evidence of lower predation rates on exotic prey is scarce. In laboratory experiments, we compared the susceptibility of G. pulex and G. roeseli to fish predation, determined the mechanisms influencing prey selection, and studied the interaction between behavioural and morphological defences. Fish predators (brown tr…
Invasion de Dikerogammarus villosus (Crustacé, Amphipode) dans les eaux continentales françaises : dynamiques et conséquences
National audience
Increased susceptibility to predation and altered anti-predator behaviour in an acanthocephalan-infected amphipod.
7 pages; International audience; According to the 'parasitic manipulation hypothesis', phenotypic changes induced by parasites in their intermediate hosts are effective means of increasing trophic transmission to final hosts. One obvious prediction, although seldom tested, is that increased vulnerability of infected prey to an appropriate predator should be achieved by the parasite altering the anti-predator behaviour of its intermediate host. In this study, we tested this prediction using the fish acanthocephalan Pomphorhynchus tereticollis and the freshwater amphipod Gammarus pulex. Firstly, we estimated the relative vulnerability of infected and uninfected gammarids to predation by the b…
Differential influence of two acanthocephalan parasites on the antipredator behaviour of their common intermediate host
7 pages; International audience; Fish acanthocephalans can modify the antipredator behaviour of their intermediate hosts in response to cues from fish predators. However, it is still unclear whether such behavioural changes are adaptive, or are just the consequence of infection. We addressed this question through studying two acanthocephalans, Pomphorhynchus laevis and Polymorphus minutus, and their intermediate host, the amphipod Gammarus pulex. Pomphorhynchus laevis completes its cycle in a freshwater fish, whereas P. minutus exploits waterbirds as final hosts.We first assessed vulnerability of infected and uninfected gammarids to predation by bullheads, Cottus gobio. Pomphorhynchus laevi…
Modification of hosts' behavior by a parasite: field evidence for adaptive manipulation.
9 pages; International audience; Parasites relying on trophic transmission to complete their life cycles often induce modifications of their host's behavior in ways that may increase their susceptibility to predation by final hosts. These modifications have often been interpreted as parasite adaptations, but very few studies have demonstrated that host manipulation has fitness benefits for the parasite. The aim of the present study was to address the adaptive significance of parasite manipulation by coupling observations of behavioral manipulation to estimates of trophic transmission to the definitive host in the natural environment. We show that the acanthocephalan parasite Pomphorhynchus …