The evolution of juvenile susceptibility to infectious disease.

ABSTRACT: Infection prior to reproduction usually carries greater fitness costs for hosts than infection later in life, suggesting selection should tend to favour juvenile resistance. Yet, juveniles are generally more susceptible than adults across a wide spectrum of host taxa. While physiological constraints and a lack of prior exposure can explain some of this pattern, studies in plants and insects suggest that hosts may trade off juvenile susceptibility against other life-history traits. However, it is unclear precisely how trade-offs shape the evolution of juvenile susceptibility. Here, we theoretically explore the evolution of juvenile susceptibility subject to trade-offs with maturation or reproduction, which could realistically occur due to resource allocation during development (e.g. priorit

SUBMITTER: Ashby B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6030539 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature