Parasitic infection reduces dispersal of ciliate host.
Parasitic infection can modify host mobility and consequently their dispersal capacity. We experimentally investigated this idea using the ciliate Paramecium caudatum and its bacterial parasite Holospora undulata. We compared the short-distance dispersal of infected and uninfected populations in interconnected microcosms. Infection reduced the proportion of hosts dispersing, with levels differing among host clones. Host populations with higher densities showed lower dispersal, possibly owing to social aggregation behaviour. Parasite isolates that depleted host populations most had the lowest impact on host dispersal. Parasite-induced modification of dispersal may have consequences for the spatial distribution of disease, host and parasite genetic population structure, and coevolution.
Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution UMR 5554, Université Montpellier, 2 Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier, France. simonfellous@free.fr
Simon
S
Fellous
Elsa
E
Quillery
Alison B
AB
Duncan
Oliver
O
Kaltz
D042281:Holosporaceae / Q000502:physiology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D048488:Paramecium caudatum / Q000382:microbiology*; D011157:Population Dynamics