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ABSTRACT Predation can alter diverse ecological processes, including host–parasite interactions. Selective predation, whereby predators preferentially feed on certain prey types, can affect prey density and selective pressures. Studies on selective predation in infected populations have primarily focused on predators preferentially feeding on infected prey. However, there is substantial evidence that some predators preferentially consume uninfected individuals. Such different strategies of prey selectivity likely modulate host–parasite interactions, changing the fitness payoffs both for hosts and their parasites. Here we investigated the effects of different types of selective predation on infection dynamics and host evolution. We used a host–parasite system in the laboratory (Daphnia dentifera infected with the horizontally transmitted fungus,Metschnikowia bicuspidata) to artificially manipulate selective predation by removing infected, uninfected, or randomly selected prey over approximately 8–9 overlapping generations. We collected weekly data on population demographics and host infection and measured susceptibility from a subset of the remaining hosts in each population at the end of the experiment. After 6 weeks of selective predation pressure, we found no differences in host abundance or infection prevalence across predation treatments. Counterintuitively, populations with selective predation on infected individuals had a higher abundance of infected individuals than populations where either uninfected or randomly selected individuals were removed. Additionally, populations with selective predation for uninfected individuals had a higher proportion of individuals infected after a standardized exposure to the parasite than individuals from the two other predation treatments. These results suggest that selective predation can alter the abundance of infected hosts and host evolution.
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Demographic rescue falters when pathogens are present
Abstract As natural populations continue to decline globally, direct forms of intervention are increasingly necessary to prevent extinction. One type of intervention, known as demographic rescue, occurs when individuals are added directly to a population to increase abundance and ultimately prevent population extinction. However, the role of infectious disease in demographic rescue remains unknown. To examine the effects of pathogens on demographic rescue, we used a host–pathogen system with the aquatic crustaceanDaphnia dentiferaas the host and the fungusMetschnikowia bicuspidataas the pathogen. We constructed a randomized 3 × 2 factorial experiment with three rescue treatments (none, low, high) and two pathogen treatments (unexposed, exposed), where the pathogen was introduced via infected individuals during rescue events. We found that adding more individuals to demographically depressed populations increased abundance over the short term; highly supplemented populations initially had 62% more individuals than populations that had no introduced individuals. However, by the end of the experiment, populations that did not have any individuals introduced averaged 640% higher abundance than populations where infected individuals had been added. Thus, the introduction of infected individuals can result in worse demographic outcomes for populations than if no rescue is attempted.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1856710
- PAR ID:
- 10559259
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Ecology
- Volume:
- 106
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0012-9658
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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