Search results for "vesisiirat"

Larval life history, transmission strategies, and the evolution of intermediate host exploitation by complex life-cycle parasites

2007

Complex life-cycle parasites use their intermediate hosts both as an energy source and as a vessel for transmission to the next host in the life cycle. Parasites that grow rapidly to a large size may have high fitness (e.g. time spent in uninfective stages is limited), yet those that grow too aggressively may reduce host viability and their own probability of successful transmission. I examined aspects of both the growth and transmission strategy of an acanthocephalan (Acanthocephalus lucii) in its isopod intermediate host. In an experimental infection, the relative rate of larval parasite growth slowed over time, and eventually parasites seemed to reach a threshold biomass sustainable by t…