Parasites, host behavior, and their feedbacks

Abstract

AbstractAnimal behavior and parasite dynamics are often tightly intertwined, each exerting influence on the other via both ecological and evolutionary processes. Thus, links between host behaviors and parasitism are frequently characterized by feedbacks. Characterizing these feedbacks, including when they occur, over what timescales, and their potential role as drivers of variation in both host behavior and parasite traits, is key for our understanding of host behavior–parasite interactions more broadly. Here the chapter reviews the basic requirements for behavior–parasite feedbacks, their common functional outcomes, current evidence for behavior–parasite feedbacks in nature, and the way in which the strength and nature of these feedbacks may vary with environmental context. The chapter ends by highlighting potential approaches for studying behavior–parasite feedbacks and outstanding questions in the field, such as the relative importance of feedbacks to novelty and stability in host or parasite traits.