Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

The effects of parasites on host behavior : who benefits?

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  • Some parasites may modify the behavior of their hosts. Altered behaviors may: 1) benefit the host in that they defend against the pathogen, 2) benefit the pathogen and represent manipulations of the host response, and 3) benefit neither the host or the pathogen and simply be a product of the host response to infection. In this thesis I examine four host/parasite systems. For each system, I explore host/parasite behavioral interactions, and examine them with regard to selective pressures that may be acting on both the host and the parasite. I test the Hamilton and Zuk hypothese in 26 species of lizards. I find an inverse relationship between a lizard species' brightness and parasite prevalence. My result lend credence to criticisms of the Hamilton and Zuk Hypothesis. If infection does occur, animals may alter their behavior to impair the growth and reproduction of the parasite. To test this prediction, I examine behavioral thermoregulation in two strains of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata, one resistant to, and one susceptible to, the parasite Schistosoma mansoni. The preferred temperature of infected snails drops five weeks after exposure to the parasite. I propose the hypothesis that pathogen-induced host defense responses result in altered host behaviors and enhanced predation. In particular, I examine the effects of the acute phase response (a physiological response whose symptoms include fever, reduced activity and malaise) on antipredatory behavior in bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) tadpoles. This host response is associated with the preliminary stages of infection with many pathogens yet its behavioral effects have received little attention. I find that the stereotypical effects of the acute phase response can lead to increased predation. I suggest that altered behaviors may afford some parasites a potential pathway to their next host. I examine the behavioral effects of a yeast, Candida spp., a single-host parasite species in its natural host, the red-legged frog (Rana aurora). Infected tadpoles exhibit the same behavioral modifications that are noted in bacteria injected bullfrog tadpoles. These results suggest that some altered behaviors may occur due to a host response to infection and not due to parasitic manipulation.
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