Behaviour-manipulating parasites as adjuncts to vertebrate pest control

Tompkins, Daniel M.; Veltman, Clare J.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.01.016

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Manipulative parasites, although they could be a burden in conservation biology, are also likely to become helpful tools. In a recent paper, Tompkins and Veltman (2015) showed that T. gondii could be used to improve vertebrate pest control. This parasite induces several behavioral modifications in its rat host, among which a decreased neophobia and an increased activity ( Webster, 1994 , Webster et al., 1994 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trapping is often used to control rats’ populations, but the natural neophobia of rats renders them hard to capture. Tompkins and Veltman (2015) reported that infection by T. gondii widely increases the trapability of rats, and that infection would reduce the trapping efforts required to maintain rat population under a threshold for conservation benefit. We follow them in considering that other manipulative parasite species might be of interest for ecosystems and population management.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Host manipulation in the face of environmental changes: Ecological consequences

Labaude

Rigaud

Cézilly

2015

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

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Several parasite species, particularly those having complex life-cycles, are known to induce phenotypic alterations in their hosts. Most often, such alterations appear to increase the fitness of the parasites at the expense of that of their hosts, a phenomenon known as “host manipulation”. Host manipulation can have important consequences, ranging from host population dynamics to ecosystem engineering. So far, the importance of environmental changes for host manipulation has received little attention. However, because manipulative parasites are embedded in complex systems, with many interacting components, changes in the environment are likely to affect those systems in various ways. Here, after reviewing the ecological importance of manipulative parasites, we consider potential causes and consequences of changes in host manipulation by parasites driven by environmental modifications. We show that such consequences can extend to trophic networks and population dynamics within communities, and alter the ecological role of manipulative parasites such as their ecosystem engineering. We suggest that taking them into account could improve the accuracy of predictions regarding the effects of global change. We also propose several directions for future studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host manipulation in the face of environmental changes: Ecological consequences

Labaude

Rigaud

Cézilly

2015

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

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“…In a comprehensive review by Capizzi, Bertolino, and Mortelliti (2014), the black rat was ranked as the most severe rodent pest, a generalist with geographically widespread impact. Moreover, the black rat is an important vector of zoonoses (Lapuz et al, 2008; Matthias et al, 2008; McCormick, 2003; Nitatpattana et al, 2002) and an invasive species (Towns, Atkinson, & Daugherty, 2006), which makes them a target of poisonous baits and traps more often than other rodents (Innes, Warburton, Williams, Speed, & Bradfield, 1995; Miller & Miller, 1995; Morriss, Warburton, Cross, & Nugent, 2012; Spurr, Morriss, Turner, O’Connor, & Fisher, 2007; Tompkins & Veltman, 2015). For these reasons, exploration of novel places or objects represents a considerable risk for the rats (Cowan, 1977) and it is more dangerous than exposing themselves to potential nonhuman predators (e.g., foxes and owls; Kryštufek, Vohralík, Spitzenberger, & Janžekovič, 2009).…”

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confidence: 99%

Consistent individual differences in standard exploration tasks in the black rat (Rattus rattus).

Žampachová

Kaftanová

Šimánková

et al. 2017

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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In a fluctuating environment, the optimal level of exploratory behavior depends on the proportion of current risks and benefits. The exploratory behavior is, therefore, often subjected to heterogenous selection. In populations of commensal rodents living in close proximity of humans, this pressure is further increased by pest management. We hypothesize that the black rat (Rattus rattus) responds to this pressure by either high behavioral flexibility or by development of personality types. The aim of this study was to analyze exploratory behavior and boldness of wild black rats and its changes over time to determine whether exploratory behavior is a personality trait in black rats. Studies on animals with unreduced variability are necessary for determination of normal range of behaviors. The behavior in the open field and hole board tests yielded 1 multivariate variable representing exploratory behavior and 1 representing boldness. The hole board test additionally provided an axis representing exploratory behavior. Exploratory behavior showed moderate to high repeatability, even though we observed a considerable effect of habituation. Exploratory behavior was also strongly correlated across contexts; therefore, our results suggest that the black rat responds to heterogenous selection pressure by developing personality types. We also found a strong effect of litter identity on some aspects of the exploratory behavior. Boldness was less repeatable, which we interpret as high behavioral flexibility in this behavioral trait. In concordance with our hypothesis, the personality types in exploratory behavior, but not in boldness, are possibly maintained by heterogenous selection pressure created by human pest management. (PsycINFO Database Record

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