0000000000164258
AUTHOR
Maarit Haataja
FOOD MAKES YOU A TARGET: DISENTANGLING GENETIC, PHYSIOLOGICAL, AND BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS DETERMINING SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INFECTION
Genetics, physiology, and behavior are all expected to influence the susceptibility of hosts to parasites. Furthermore, interactions between genetic and other factors are suggested to contribute to the maintenance of genetic polymorphism in resistance when the relative susceptibility of host genotypes is context dependent. We used a maternal sibship design and long- and short-term food deprivation treatments to test the role of family-level genetic variation, body condition, physiological state, and foraging behavior on the susceptibility of Lymnaea stagnalis snails to infection by a trematode parasite that uses chemical cues to locate its hosts. In experimental exposures, we found that sna…
Are Sick Individuals Weak Competitors? Competitive Ability of Snails Parasitized by a Gigantism-Inducing Trematode
Parasitized individuals are often expected to be poor competitors because they are weakened by infections. Many trematode species, however, although extensively exploiting their mollusc hosts, also induce gigantism (increased host size) by diverting host resources towards growth instead of reproduction. In such systems, alternatively to reduced competitive ability due to negative effects of parasitism on host performance, larger size could allow more efficient resource acquisition and thus increase the relative competitive ability of host individuals. We addressed this hypothesis by testing the effect of a trematode parasite Diplostomum pseudospathaceum on the competitive ability of its sna…
Data from: Food makes you a target: disentangling genetic, physiological, and behavioral effects determining susceptibility to infection
Genetics, physiology and behavior are all expected to influence the susceptibility of hosts to parasites. Furthermore, interactions between genetic and other factors are suggested to contribute to the maintenance of genetic polymorphism in resistance when the relative susceptibility of host genotypes is context dependent. We used a maternal sibship design and long- and short-term food deprivation treatments to test the role of family-level genetic variation, body condition, physiological state and foraging behavior on the susceptibility of Lymnaea stagnalis snails to infection by a trematode parasite that uses chemical cues to locate its hosts. In experimental exposures, we found that snail…