The evolution of parasite manipulation of host dispersal.
We investigate the evolution of manipulation of host dispersal behaviour by parasites using spatially explicit individual-based simulations. We find that when dispersal is local, parasites always gain from increasing their hosts' dispersal rate, although the evolutionary outcome is determined by the costs-to-benefits ratio. However, when dispersal can be non-local, we show that parasites investing in an intermediate dispersal distance of their hosts are favoured even when the manipulation is not costly, due to the intrinsic spatial dynamics of the host-parasite interaction. Our analysis highlights the crucial importance of ecological spatial dynamics in evolutionary processes and reveals the theoretical possibility that parasites could manipulate their hosts' dispersal.
Lion
Sébastien
S
Fonctionnement et évolution des systèmes écologiques, UMR 7625, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Bât. A, 7ème étage CC237, 7, quai St-Bernard, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France. slion@snv.jussieu.fr
van Baalen
Minus
M
Wilson
William G
WG
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005075:Biological Evolution; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D010271:Parasites / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D010272:Parasitic Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D013037:Spatial Behavior; D013269:Stochastic Processes