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Parasite/pathogen
Social parasitism
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is behavioural parasitism? | lifestyle in which an individual exploits the behaviour of another individual (of the same or different species) to gain fitness benefits at the expense of the host |
| Kleptoparasitism | a feeding strategy where one animal deliberately steals food from another therefore avoiding the costs of hunting or foraging |
| Brood parasitism | an evolutionary strategy that relieves the parasitic parents from the investment of rearing offspring or building nests by getting the host to raise their offspring for them |
| Social parasitism | an evolutionary strategy where a parasite exploits the social behaviour of a host species causing the host to rear the parasites offspring |
| Sexual parasitism | a reproductive strategy where males attach to the females and derive nutrients whilst providing no resources other than sperm |
| Brood parasitism in more detail | Reduces resources available to hosts offspring Leads to direct mortality of hosts eggs and chicks Parasites use strategies to kill host chicks and increase resources for their own chicks |
| Why do host birds tolerate parasites? | Defence has not yet evolved? Physiological adaptations of parasites Behavioural adaptations of parasites Parasitism not always very costly |
| Parasites use mimicry to infiltrate the hosts nest | Cuckoos mimic predatory species Cuckoo finch has polymorphic eggs to match polymorphisms in their hosts Genetically distinct cuckoos populations specialise on different hosts to keep pace with host defence evolution |
| Parasites use mimicry to infiltrate the hosts nest | Pin-tailed whydah chicks mimic the mouth patterning of their waxbill hosts |
| Parasites use mimicry to infiltrate the hosts nest | Horsefield’s hawk cuckoo gains increased feeding by mimicking an extra gape on its wing (g). Specialist screaming cowbird mimics its host more than generalist brown cowbird (h). |
| Parasites use mimicry to infiltrate the hosts nest | Cuckoo finch mimics a common bird that co-occurs with the host to escape detection |
| Do parasites “punish” hosts that reject their eggs? | Mafia hypothesis proposes that it might not be a good idea to reject eggs… |
| Tradeoffs between accepting and rejecting parasite eggs | Parasitism is costly to the host Rejecting parasite eggs is costly = A tradeoff between accepting parasite eggs and rejecting them |
| Tradeoffs between accepting and rejecting parasite eggs | Not being vigilant is potentially costly to the parasite Vigilance itself is also potentially costly = A tradeoff between Mafia behaviour and Non-mafia behaviour |
| More on brood parasitism | Is widespread in among birds (but also found in other species) Parasites use several strategies to evade host defenses Parasites might temper host defenses through “mafia” like behaviour |
| More on brood parasitism | Parasites and hosts are subjected to tradeoffs in their relationships with each other |
| Social parasitism: 3 major types | Temporary social parasitism Inquiline parasitism Dulosis |
| How does a social parasite successfully infiltrate the colony? | - mimicry? Wasmannian mimicry Host biochemistry Size and morphology Behaviour |
| Parasites match host biochemistry? | Ants communicate via cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) |
| Parasites match host morphology? | Parasites match their hosts for overall size and individual body parts Parasites also match the head hair number of their hosts |
| Evolution of social parasitism | Social parasites are usually closely related to their hosts (but with some obvious exceptions) |
| Further details | Social behaviour is vulnerable to multiple parasitic strategies Parasites are able to evade their host’s defences using physiological, morphological, and behavioural means Social parasitism as a strategy often evolves from social behaviour |
Created by:
reub8n
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