Search results for "Bios"

Confrontation of cryptic diversity and mate discrimination within Gammarus pulex and Gammarus fossarum species complexes.

2014

16 pages; International audience; Freshwater amphipods Gammarus fossarum and Gammarus pulex are widespread in Europe, with some evidence of cryptic diversity in the former. We used DNA barcoding to assess genetic diversity within and among amphipod populations and examined mate discrimination and pre-copulatory pair formation between genetically divergent individuals. Eight distinct G. fossarum and four distinct G. pulex molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) were detected. Among the 33 amphipod populations sampled, 11 contained a single MOTU, 11 had two and 11 were composed of three sympatric MOTUs. Genetic divergences between sympatric MOTUs (G. fossarum and G. pulex MOTUs combined…

Le paradoxe de l'hippocampe - Une histoire naturelle de la monogamie.

2006

The next meeting for animal personality: population genetics.

2015

8 pages; International audience

Increased susceptibility to predation and altered anti-predator behaviour in an acanthocephalan-infected amphipod.

2007

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…

Infection with acanthocephalans increases the vulnerability of Gammarus pulex (Crustacea, Amphipoda) to non-host invertebrate predators.

2008

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…

Host manipulation of a freshwater crustacean (Gammarus roeseli) by an acanthocephalan parasite (Polymorphus minutus) in a biological invasion context.

2006

8 pages; International audience; Several gammarid species serve as intermediate hosts for the acanthocephalan parasite Polymorphus minutus. This parasite influences gammarid behaviour in order to favour transmission to its ultimate host, generally a bird. We investigated this host manipulation in Gammarus roeseli, a gammarid species introduced in France 150 years ago which now coexists with several exotic species from different origins. In the field, vertical distribution of G. roeseli revealed a higher proportion of infected individuals close to the water's surface and the size distribution of infected gammarids revealed predation pressure on infected individuals. However, under laboratory…

Introduction. Ecological immunology.

2009

12 pages; International audience; An organism's fitness is critically reliant on its immune system to provide protection against parasites and pathogens. The structure of even simple immune systems is surprisingly complex and clearly will have been moulded by the organism's ecology. The aim of this review and the theme issue is to examine the role of different ecological factors on the evolution of immunity. Here, we will provide a general framework of the field by contextualizing the main ecological factors, including interactions with parasites, other types of biotic as well as abiotic interactions, intraspecific selective constraints (life-history trade-offs, sexual selection) and popula…

Modification of hosts' behavior by a parasite: field evidence for adaptive manipulation.

2007

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 …

Manipulative parasites may not alter intermediate host distribution but still enhance their transmission: field evidence for increased vulnerability …

2013

SUMMARYBehavioural alterations induced by parasites in their intermediate hosts can spatially structure host populations, possibly resulting in enhanced trophic transmission to definitive hosts. However, such alterations may also increase intermediate host vulnerability to non-host predators. Parasite-induced behavioural alterations may thus vary between parasite species and depend on each parasite definitive host species. We studied the influence of infection with 2 acanthocephalan parasites (Echinorhynchus truttae and Polymorphus minutus) on the distribution of the amphipod Gammarus pulex in the field. Predator presence or absence and predator species, whether suitable definitive host or …

Carotenoid-based colour of acanthocephalan cystacanths plays no role in host manipulation.

2009

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…