Search results for "Host–parasite coevolution"
showing 7 items of 7 documents
The influence of slavemaking lifestyle, caste and sex on chemical profiles in Temnothorax ants: insights into the evolution of cuticular hydrocarbons
2017
Chemical communication is central for the formation and maintenance of insect societies. Generally, social insects only allow nest-mates into their colony, which are recognized by their cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). Social parasites, which exploit insect societies, are selected to circumvent host recognition. Here, we studied whether chemical strategies to reduce recognition evolved convergently in slavemaking ants, and whether they extend to workers, queens and males alike. We studied CHCs of three social parasites and their related hosts to investigate whether the parasitic lifestyle selects for specific chemical traits that reduce host recognition. Slavemaker profiles were characterize…
Some like it cold: the glossiphoniid parasites of the Sicilian endemic pond turtle Emys trinacris (Testudines, Emydidae), an example of ‘parasite ine…
2016
The freshwater turtles of the genus Emys and some leech species of the family Glossiphoniidae are the only Palaearctic representatives of primarily Nearctic taxa, which jointly colonized Eurasia and the Maghreb during the Miocene. The strict trophic relationships occurring between the glossiphoniid parasite leech Placobdella costata and its host, the emydid Emys orbicularis, make them a prime example of host–parasite cophylogenetic evolution. In the light of the discovery of the Sicilian cryptic endemic species Emys trinacris, which is the sister species to the widespread Palaearctic E. orbicularis, the possible cophylogenetic divergence of the turtle hosts and their leech parasites was inv…
VARIATION BETWEEN POPULATIONS AND LOCAL ADAPTATION IN ACANTHOCEPHALAN-INDUCED PARASITE MANIPULATION
2010
Many trophically transmitted parasites manipulate their intermediate host phenotype, resulting in higher transmission to the final host. However, it is not known if manipulation is a fixed adaptation of the parasite or a dynamic process upon which selection still acts. In particular, local adaptation has never been tested in manipulating parasites. In this study, using experimental infections between six populations of the acanthocephalan parasite Pomphorhynchus laevis and its amphipod host Gammarus pulex, we investigated whether a manipulative parasite may be locally adapted to its host. We compared adaptation patterns for infectivity and manipulative ability. We first found a negative eff…
Host-driven morphological variability in Orobanche crenata (Orobanchaceae)
2018
Studies on interactions between Orobanche species and their hosts are mainly focused on resistance, radical interactions, and haustorium development. The influence of the host plant on morphology of the parasite under environmental controlled conditions is not reported in the literature. With the aim of filling this gap, the results of cultivation experiments of Orobanche crenata on Vicia faba, V. sativa, Pisum sativum, Cicer arietinum, and Lathyrus clymenum are presented. The tested population of O. crenata infected all the studied hosts but showed preferences toward Vicia and Pisum and, in particular, toward a foreign V. sativa cv. The higher resistance of the evaluated local cv. could be…
GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION IN ANTIBODY AND T-CELL MEDIATED RESPONSES IN THE GREAT TIT
2006
Host parasite coevolution assumes pathogen specific genetic variation in host immune defense. Also, if immune function plays a role in the evolution of life history, allocation to immune function should be heritable. We conducted a cross-fostering experiment to test the relative importance of genetic and environmental sources of variation in T-cell mediated inflammatory response and antigen specific antibody responses in the great tits Parus major. Cell mediated response was measured during the nestling period and antibody response against two novel antigens was measured in two-month-old juveniles raised in a laboratory. We found no effect of nest of origin, but a strong effect of rearing e…
A three-way perspective of stoichiometric changes on host–parasite interactions
2015
Changes in environmental nutrients play a crucial role in driving disease dynamics, but global patterns in nutrient-driven changes in disease are difficult to predict. In this paper we use ecological stoichiometry as a framework to review host–parasite interactions under changing nutrient ratios, focusing on three pathways: (i) altered host resistance and parasite virulence through host stoichiometry (ii) changed encounter or contact rates at population level, and (iii) changed host community structure. We predict that the outcome of nutrient changes on host–parasite interactions depends on which pathways are modified, and suggest that the outcome of infection could depend on the overlap in…
Ant Societies Buffer Individual-Level Effects of Parasite Infections
2012
Parasites decrease host fitness and can induce changes in host behavior, morphology, and physiology. When parasites exploit social insects, they influence not only infected individuals but also the society as a whole. Workers of the ant Temnothorax nylanderi are an intermediate host for the cestode Anomotaenia brevis. We studied a heavily parasitized population and found that, although parasite infection had strong and diverse consequences for individual workers, colony fitness remained unchanged. At the individual level, we uncovered differences among the three worker types, infected and healthy workers from parasitized colonies and healthy workers from nonparasitized colonies. Infected wo…