An Analysis of the Relationship Between Stress and Parasitism

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. The University of Notre Dame is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Midland Naturalist.ABSTRACT: The impact of stress upon the dynamics of host and parasite populations is varied. It may be expressed physiologically or behaviorally in either the host or the parasite. The outcome of stress may be an increase or a decrease in natality and mortality which may then result in significant changes in the densities of the involved populations. At the ecosystem level, stress may be manifested either directly or indirectly on individuals or populations, but the outcome is change in natality or mortality and, hence, in the density of the affected species. The varied response to stressor input at the individual, population and ecosystem levels is dictated by the capacity for adaptability present at each level; the response may be modified, however, by the unique combination of environmental characteristics at the time of stressor input.

Parasites and Social Behavior of Island Feral Horses

“…dominance status in this horse population is also somewhat surprising. Many other studies on mammals show that low status correlates with heightened susceptibility to infection and disruption of endocrine function (Christian and Davis 1964, Esch et al 1975). Yet others such as Hausfater and Davis (1976) show that high ranking male baboons emit more ova than lower ranking ones, and that female ova emissions are only affected by reproductive state, not by rank.…”

Parasites and global warming: net effects of temperature on an intertidal host–parasite system

“…Lafferty et al 2004, Harvell et al 2009). Temperature can also act as a stressor on hosts and may lead to an increase in parasite-induced mortality (Esch et al 1975). The impact on individual hosts may then also translate into effects at the population level, which, in turn, may negatively affect the parasite's success at completing its life cycle.…”

Parasite communities of the Schlei Fjord (Baltic coast of northern Germany)

“…The compound communities (Esch et at., 1975) investigated in the Schlei fjord were especially rich in hosts that are called genuine brackish-water species, e.g. Pomatoschistus microps, or euryhaline species like Gasterosteus aculeatus (Remane, 1958).…”