Can predators stabilize host-parasite interactions? Changes in aquatic predator identity alter amphibian responses and parasite abundance across life stages.

ABSTRACT: The role of parasites can change depending on the food web community. Predators, for instance, can amplify or dilute parasite effects on their hosts. Likewise, exposure to parasites or predators at one life stage can have long-term consequences on individual performance and survival, which can influence population and disease dynamics. To understand how predators affect amphibian parasite infections across life stages, we manipulated exposure of northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) tadpoles to three predators (crayfish [Orconectes rusticus], bluegill [Lepomis macrochirus], or mosquitofish [Gambusia affinis]) and to trematode parasites (Echinostoma spp.) in mesocosms and followed juveniles in outdoor terrestrial enclosures through overwintering. Parasites

SUBMITTER: Strasburg M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9666717 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature