Host behaviour-parasite feedback: an essential link between animal behaviour and disease ecology.

ABSTRACT: Animal behaviour and the ecology and evolution of parasites are inextricably linked. For this reason, animal behaviourists and disease ecologists have been interested in the intersection of their respective fields for decades. Despite this interest, most research at the behaviour-disease interface focuses either on how host behaviour affects parasites or how parasites affect behaviour, with little overlap between the two. Yet, the majority of interactions between hosts and parasites are probably reciprocal, such that host behaviour feeds back on parasites and vice versa. Explicitly considering these feedbacks is essential for understanding the complex connections between animal behaviour and parasite ecology and evolution. To illustrate this point, we discuss how host behaviour-parasite fe

SUBMITTER: Ezenwa VO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4843650 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature