Mechanisms and consequences of infection‐induced phenotypes
Mechanisms and consequences of infection‐induced phenotypes
Researchers studying animal phenotypes often overlook the potential influence of parasites hiding inside their study organisms. Yet, most wild animals host parasites, which can alter individual phenotypes (e.g. morphology, physiology, behaviour). Infection-induced phenotypes stem from several nonmutually exclusive mechanisms (i.e. adaptive host defences, infection-induced debilitation and host manipulation by parasites), driven by parasites and/or hosts. Changes in host phenotype can impact all levels of biological organization, from cells to communities. The nature and magnitude of these effects can vary depending on the biotic and abiotic environmental factors experienced by hosts and parasites. This special feature highlights recent insights into the ways parasites alter host phenotypes across a range of systems. Here, we contextualize how each contribution expands our knowledge of the role of parasites in driving individual variation in animal phenotypes. Looking to the future, we need to better understand how infection-induced phenotypes fluctuate with natural variation in infection (e.g. infection intensity, coinfection) and whether studies in laboratory-based environments provide strong proxies for host–parasite interactions in the wild. The time is ripe to acknowledge, critique and discuss the implications of infection on host phenotypes across taxonomic boundaries and biological levels of organization. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
adaptive host defences, animal phenotypes, disease dynamics, host manipulation by parasites, host-parasite interactions, individual variation, parasite-induced host debilitation
796-800
Nadler, Lauren E.
1d1f8e6a-e951-41f5-888c-cfcb4b4b19dc
Adamo, Shelley A.
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Hawley, Dana M.
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Binning, Sandra A.
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5 April 2023
Nadler, Lauren E.
1d1f8e6a-e951-41f5-888c-cfcb4b4b19dc
Adamo, Shelley A.
332823b6-c11a-4980-bb95-0fe73c2a1cbd
Hawley, Dana M.
d31fc6ec-b194-44df-96e8-67044e29849c
Binning, Sandra A.
d35b4370-17e3-454c-9f9c-79d085dfaba6
Nadler, Lauren E., Adamo, Shelley A., Hawley, Dana M. and Binning, Sandra A.
(2023)
Mechanisms and consequences of infection‐induced phenotypes.
Functional Ecology, 37 (4), .
(doi:10.1111/1365-2435.14309).
Abstract
Researchers studying animal phenotypes often overlook the potential influence of parasites hiding inside their study organisms. Yet, most wild animals host parasites, which can alter individual phenotypes (e.g. morphology, physiology, behaviour). Infection-induced phenotypes stem from several nonmutually exclusive mechanisms (i.e. adaptive host defences, infection-induced debilitation and host manipulation by parasites), driven by parasites and/or hosts. Changes in host phenotype can impact all levels of biological organization, from cells to communities. The nature and magnitude of these effects can vary depending on the biotic and abiotic environmental factors experienced by hosts and parasites. This special feature highlights recent insights into the ways parasites alter host phenotypes across a range of systems. Here, we contextualize how each contribution expands our knowledge of the role of parasites in driving individual variation in animal phenotypes. Looking to the future, we need to better understand how infection-induced phenotypes fluctuate with natural variation in infection (e.g. infection intensity, coinfection) and whether studies in laboratory-based environments provide strong proxies for host–parasite interactions in the wild. The time is ripe to acknowledge, critique and discuss the implications of infection on host phenotypes across taxonomic boundaries and biological levels of organization. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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Non-typeset final submitted version
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 21 February 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 5 April 2023
Published date: 5 April 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
We want to thank the editorial teams at Journal of Animal Ecology and Functional Ecology for their assistance and guidance from the special feature proposal to each manuscript submission, particularly Kirsty Scandrett and Frank Harris. We also want to thank all the authors who contributed manuscripts to the special feature.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 British Ecological Society.
Keywords:
adaptive host defences, animal phenotypes, disease dynamics, host manipulation by parasites, host-parasite interactions, individual variation, parasite-induced host debilitation
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 476971
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/476971
ISSN: 0269-8463
PURE UUID: 5599264a-40f5-42f9-8a0f-27cc0858d5e4
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Date deposited: 22 May 2023 17:09
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 07:44
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Contributors
Author:
Lauren E. Nadler
Author:
Shelley A. Adamo
Author:
Dana M. Hawley
Author:
Sandra A. Binning
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