The impact of multiple infections on wild animal hosts: a review

Bordes, Frédéric; Morand, Serge

doi:10.3402/iee.v1i0.7346

Cited by 140 publications

(147 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…Nevertheless, systematic studies using aggregate models are important, since cumulative effects of multiple infections can have marked impacts on host health and fitness (Bordes & Morand, 2011). Identifying the hosts with high rates of infection from multiple parasites can therefore help identify fitness costs associated with social behaviour.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primate reinfection with gastrointestinal parasites: behavioural and physiological predictors of parasite acquisition

Friant

Ziegler²,

Goldberg

2016

Animal Behaviour

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Infectious disease transmission is a cost of sociality in humans and other animals. Nevertheless, the mechanisms linking social behaviour to infection risk are poorly known. We conducted a field experiment to examine how host intrinsic traits, behaviour and physiology affect infection of nonhuman primates with gastrointestinal parasites. We measured rate to reinfection in a social group of red-capped mangabeys, Cercocebus torquatus, following chemotherapeutic treatment for parasite infections. By measuring behaviour, infection and glucocorticoid levels, we compared the relative effects of space sharing, directional contact and physiological stress on risk of acquiring new infections. We found that, within proximity networks, individuals that were central and well connected and that had a tendency to switch groups were at increased risk of infection with helminths. Protozoan infections, however, were acquired more uniformly across the population. In general, position in the social network and, in particular, space sharing appears to be more important than the immunosuppressive effects of physiological stress or host traits in determining risk of infection. Our results suggest that future studies of disease ecology within wildlife populations should focus on measures of network association in addition to individual host traits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primate reinfection with gastrointestinal parasites: behavioural and physiological predictors of parasite acquisition

Friant

Ziegler²,

Goldberg

2016

Animal Behaviour

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“…It is not known how pathogenic the protozoans found in this study are to Barbary macaques, so implications of increased protozoan diversity for the health of these animals remain unknown. While the protozoan species recovered are generally considered to be non-pathogenic and asymptomatic (Leventhal and Cheadle 2002), the evidence for cumulative and often synergistic impacts of multiple parasite infections-including protozoanprotozoan coinfections-in wild vertebrates suggests a potential cost to the host of increased parasite richness (Bordes and Morand 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Body Size, Coat Condition and Endoparasite Diversity of Wild Barbary Macaques Exposed to Different Levels of Tourism

et al. 2014

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Primate tourism is a rapidly growing industry with the potential to provide considerable conservation benefits. However, assessing the impact of tourists on the animals involved is vital to ensure that the conservation value of primate tourism is maximized. In this study, we compared body size, coat condition, and endoparasite diversity of wild, adult Barbary macaques exposed to different levels of tourism. Study animals belonged to three groups located in the Middle Atlas Mountains, Morocco: "green group" (GG) and "scarlet group" (SG) were exposed to negligible/no tourism, while the "tourist group" (TG) was exposed to very high levels of tourism. We used photogrammetry to quantify body size, scored coat condition from photographs, and quantified endoparasite species number from fecal samples. For both males and females, TG animals had deeper stomachs and wider hips than SG and GG animals. The coat condition of TG males was worse than that of SG and GG males, but no difference between groups was seen for females. Fecal samples from TG males contained a greater mean number of protozoan species than did samples from SG and GG males; for females a similar difference was found between TG and GG, but not between TG and SG. This study provides evidence that tourism has impacts on the body size, coat condition, and endoparasite diversity of Barbary macaques at this site. Further study is required to assess whether such effects are detrimental to the health of these animals.

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“…Such a mechanism can be particularly beneficial for social organisms as in the natural environment individuals are generally faced with challenges from more than one parasite species [35]. Infestation with one parasite can put substantial constraints on the ability of a host to respond to secondary infestations which are likely in the wild due to the ubiquity of more than one parasite species present in natural environments [36]. Similar effects of multiple parasite infestation have also been observed in a closely related mole-rat species, the highveld mole-rat ( Cryptomys hottentotus pretoriae ) [37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energetic Benefits of Sociality Offset the Costs of Parasitism in a Cooperative Mammal

et al. 2013

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Sociality and particularly advanced forms of sociality such as cooperative breeding (living in permanent groups with reproductive division of labour) is relatively rare among vertebrates. A suggested constraint on the evolution of sociality is the elevated transmission rate of parasites between group members. Despite such apparent costs, sociality has evolved independently in a number of vertebrate taxa including humans. However, how the costs of parasitism are overcome in such cases remains uncertain. We evaluated the potential role of parasites in the evolution of sociality in a member of the African mole-rats, the only mammal family that exhibits the entire range of social systems from solitary to eusocial. Here we show that resting metabolic rates decrease whilst daily energy expenditure and energy stores (i.e. body fat) increase with group size in social Natal mole rats (Cryptomys hottentotus natalensis). Critically, larger groups also had reduced parasite abundance and infested individuals only showed measurable increases in energy metabolism at high parasite abundance. Thus, in some circumstances, sociality appears to provide energetic benefits that may be diverted into parasite defence. This mechanism is likely to be self-reinforcing and an important factor in the evolution of sociality.

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The impact of multiple infections on wild animal hosts: a review

Cited by 140 publications

References 93 publications

Primate reinfection with gastrointestinal parasites: behavioural and physiological predictors of parasite acquisition

Primate reinfection with gastrointestinal parasites: behavioural and physiological predictors of parasite acquisition

A Comparison of Body Size, Coat Condition and Endoparasite Diversity of Wild Barbary Macaques Exposed to Different Levels of Tourism

Energetic Benefits of Sociality Offset the Costs of Parasitism in a Cooperative Mammal

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