When parasites become prey: ecological and epidemiological significance of eating parasites

Johnson, Pieter T. J.; Dobson, Andrew; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Marcogliese, David J.; Memmott, Jane; Orlofske, Sarah A.; Poulin, Robert; Thieltges, David W.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2010.01.005

Cited by 266 publications

(263 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…In any case, these events might represent dead-end infections (i.e., infections that occur in hosts that are not part of the lifecycle of that parasite species) and thus are not transmitted further (Tomé et al 2014). Predators that present dead-end hosts for some parasites, as possibly seen in this study, may contribute to a reduction in parasite transmission (the dilution effect) and to control of disease transmission by an indirect form of parasite predation (Johnson et al 2010). Thus, the implications of these modes of transmission may be of importance in disease ecology and evolution and need to be further studied.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Investigating how predator vertebrate hosts might become infected with parasite lineages found in prey is important because these events can have implications for the transmission dynamics of Hepatozoon. These events can have three nonexclusive explanations: 1) Trophic transmission: ingestion of paratenic hosts with infective cystozoites, thus supporting prey-predator transmission (Vojta et al 2009;Almeida et al 2013); 2) Concomitant predation: ingestion of infected invertebrate hosts attached to prey (Ewing and Panciera 2003;Johnson et al 2010); and 3) Host relatedness and ecology: prey and predators may share the same habitat, thus being exposed to the same infected vectors, and host relatedness may be a limiting factor in establishment of infection by competent vectors (Ishtiaq et al 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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MOLECULAR ASSESSMENT OFHEPATOZOON(APICOMPLEXA: ADELEORINA) INFECTIONS IN WILD CANIDS AND RODENTS FROM NORTH AFRICA, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSMISSION DYNAMICS ACROSS TAXONOMIC GROUPS

Maia

Álvares

Boratyński

et al. 2014

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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ABSTRACT:Parasites play a major role in ecosystems, and understanding of host-parasite interactions is important for predicting parasite transmission dynamics and epidemiology. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the distribution, diversity, and impact of parasites in wildlife, especially from remote areas. Hepatozoon is a genus of apicomplexan parasites that is transmitted by ingestion of infected arthropod vectors. However, alternative modes of transmission have been identified such as trophic transmission. Using the 18S rRNA gene as a marker, we provide an assessment of Hepatozoon prevalence in six wild canid and two rodent species collected between 2003 and 2012 from remote areas in North Africa. By combining this with other predator-prey systems in a phylogenetic framework, we investigate Hepatozoon transmission dynamics in distinct host taxa. [7/11, 42%]). Phylogenetic analysis showed further evidence of occasional transmission of Hepatozoon lineages from prey to canid predators, which seems to occur less frequently than in other predator-prey systems such as between snakes and lizards. Due to the complex nature of the Hepatozoon lifecycle (heteroxenous and vector-borne), future studies on these wild host species need to clarify the dynamics of alternative modes of Hepatozoon transmission and identify reservoir and definitive hosts in natural populations. We also detected putative Babesia spp. (Apicomplexa: Piroplasmida) infections in two canid species from this region, V. pallida (1/28) and V. zerda (1/11).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MOLECULAR ASSESSMENT OFHEPATOZOON(APICOMPLEXA: ADELEORINA) INFECTIONS IN WILD CANIDS AND RODENTS FROM NORTH AFRICA, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSMISSION DYNAMICS ACROSS TAXONOMIC GROUPS

Maia

Álvares

Boratyński

et al. 2014

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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“…Petanidou et al (2008)), food webs (e.g. Duffy et al 2007;Johnson et al 2010) or interspecific behavioural connections (Haydon 2008). Very few studies have attempted to understand this complexity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasite and host assemblages: embracing the reality will improve our knowledge of parasite transmission and virulence

2010

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Interactions involving several parasite species (multi-parasitized hosts) or several host species (multi-host parasites) are the rule in nature. Only a few studies have investigated these realistic, but complex, situations from an evolutionary perspective. Consequently, their impact on the evolution of parasite virulence and transmission remains poorly understood. The mechanisms by which multiple infections may influence virulence and transmission include the dynamics of intrahost competition, mediation by the host immune system and an increase in parasite genetic recombination. Theoretical investigations have yet to be conducted to determine which of these mechanisms are likely to be key factors in the evolution of virulence and transmission. In contrast, the relationship between multi-host parasites and parasite virulence and transmission has seen some theoretical investigation. The key factors in these models are the trade-off between virulence across different host species, variation in host species quality and patterns of transmission. The empirical studies on multi-host parasites suggest that interspecies transmission plays a central role in the evolution of virulence, but as yet no complete picture of the phenomena involved is available. Ultimately, determining how complex host-parasite interactions impact the evolution of host-parasite relationships will require the development of cross-disciplinary studies linking the ecology of quantitative networks with the evolution of virulence.

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“…Although eutrophication contributes to infection risk, cases of cercarial dermatitis or findings of avian schistosomes have also been reported from oligotrophic or mesotrophic systems (8). In addition, other abiotic and biotic factors and human-induced habitat alterations may influence the occurrence of schistosomes and cercarial dermatitis, such as altered hydrology conditions with water-level fluctuation, ice cover, acidification, or dam constructions (268,292,293), anthropogenic pollutants (268,(294)(295)(296)(297), biodiversity change in terms of introducing nonindigenous species that may affect endemic parasites (298), host susceptibility or resistance (9), predation upon trematode free-swimming larval stages by fish and other aquatic animals (295,299,300), or interspecific competition of parasites within the same snail host (301)(302)(303).…”

Section: Global Warming and Eutrophicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avian Schistosomes and Outbreaks of Cercarial Dermatitis

et al. 2015

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SUMMARY Cercarial dermatitis (swimmer's itch) is a condition caused by infective larvae (cercariae) of a species-rich group of mammalian and avian schistosomes. Over the last decade, it has been reported in areas that previously had few or no cases of dermatitis and is thus considered an emerging disease. It is obvious that avian schistosomes are responsible for the majority of reported dermatitis outbreaks around the world, and thus they are the primary focus of this review. Although they infect humans, they do not mature and usually die in the skin. Experimental infections of avian schistosomes in mice show that in previously exposed hosts, there is a strong skin immune reaction that kills the schistosome. However, penetration of larvae into naive mice can result in temporary migration from the skin. This is of particular interest because the worms are able to migrate to different organs, for example, the lungs in the case of visceral schistosomes and the central nervous system in the case of nasal schistosomes. The risk of such migration and accompanying disorders needs to be clarified for humans and animals of interest (e.g., dogs). Herein we compiled the most comprehensive review of the diversity, immunology, and epidemiology of avian schistosomes causing cercarial dermatitis.

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When parasites become prey: ecological and epidemiological significance of eating parasites

Cited by 266 publications

References 90 publications

MOLECULAR ASSESSMENT OFHEPATOZOON(APICOMPLEXA: ADELEORINA) INFECTIONS IN WILD CANIDS AND RODENTS FROM NORTH AFRICA, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSMISSION DYNAMICS ACROSS TAXONOMIC GROUPS

MOLECULAR ASSESSMENT OFHEPATOZOON(APICOMPLEXA: ADELEORINA) INFECTIONS IN WILD CANIDS AND RODENTS FROM NORTH AFRICA, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSMISSION DYNAMICS ACROSS TAXONOMIC GROUPS

Parasite and host assemblages: embracing the reality will improve our knowledge of parasite transmission and virulence

Avian Schistosomes and Outbreaks of Cercarial Dermatitis

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