Diversity and disease: community structure drives parasite transmission and host fitness.
Ecol Lett
; 11(10): 1017-26, 2008 Oct.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-18616550
ABSTRACT
Changes in host diversity and community structure have been linked to disease, but the mechanisms underlying such relationships and their applicability to non-vector-borne disease systems remain conjectural. Here we experimentally investigated how changes in host community structure affected the transmission and pathology of the multi-host parasite Ribeiroia ondatrae, which is a widespread cause of amphibian limb deformities. We exposed larval amphibians to parasites in monospecific or heterospecific communities, and varied host number to differentiate between density- and diversity-mediated effects on transmission. In monospecific communities, exposure to Ribeiroia significantly increased mortality (15%), malformations (40%) and time-to-metamorphosis in toads. However, the presence of tree frogs significantly reduced infection in toads, leading to fewer malformations and higher survival than observed in monospecific communities, providing evidence of parasite-mediated facilitation. Our results suggest that interspecific variation in parasite resistance can inhibit parasite transmission in multi-species communities, reducing infection and pathology in sensitive hosts.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Anura
/
Snails
/
Trematoda
/
Trematode Infections
/
Biodiversity
/
Host-Parasite Interactions
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Ecol Lett
Year:
2008
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States