| disease and the extended phenotype: parasites control host performance and survival through induced changes in body plan. | by definition, parasites harm their hosts. however, some forms of parasite-induced alterations increase parasite transmission between hosts, such that manipulated hosts can be considered extensions of the parasite's phenotype. while well accepted in principle, surprisingly few studies have quantified how parasite manipulations alter host performance and survival under field and laboratory conditions. | 2011 | 21633498 |
| heterogeneous hosts: how variation in host size, behaviour and immunity affects parasite aggregation. | infection heterogeneity is one of the most fundamental patterns in disease ecology, yet surprisingly few studies have experimentally explored its underlying drivers. here, we used large-scale field assessments to evaluate the degree of parasite aggregation within amphibian host populations followed by a novel experimental approach to assess the potential influence of host size, behaviour and immunity in reproducing such heterogeneity. among 227 wetlands, 2468 hosts and seven parasite species, in ... | 2014 | 24548254 |
| parasite transmission in complex communities: predators and alternative hosts alter pathogenic infections in amphibians. | while often studied in isolation, host-parasite interactions are typically embedded within complex communities. other community members, including predators and alternative hosts, can therefore alter parasite transmission (e.g., the dilution effect), yet few studies have experimentally evaluated more than one such mechanism. here, we used data from natural wetlands to design experiments investigating how alternative hosts and predators of parasites mediate trematode (ribeiroia ondatrae) infectio ... | 2012 | 22834364 |
| does timing matter? how priority effects influence the outcome of parasite interactions within hosts. | in nature, hosts are exposed to an assemblage of parasite species that collectively form a complex community within the host. to date, however, our understanding of how within-host-parasite communities assemble and interact remains limited. using a larval amphibian host (pacific chorus frog, pseudacris regilla) and two common trematode parasites (ribeiroia ondatrae and echinostoma trivolvis), we experimentally examined how the sequence of host exposure influenced parasite interactions within hos ... | 2013 | 23754306 |
| experimental infection dynamics: using immunosuppression and in vivo parasite tracking to understand host resistance in an amphibian-trematode system. | although naturally occurring hosts often exhibit pronounced differences in infection and pathology, the relative importance of factors associated with host life history and immunity in explaining such patterns often remains speculative. research in eco-immunology highlights the trade-offs between host physiology and immunity, for which natural variations in disease susceptibility offer a valuable platform to test predictions within this framework. here, we combined use of a novel, in vivo assay ... | 2013 | 23821713 |