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Multidimensionality and intra-individual variation in host manipulation by an acanthocephalan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2008

D. P. BENESH ,
E. T. VALTONEN  and
O. SEPPÄLÄ
D. P. BENESH*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, POB 35, FI-40014University of Jyväskylä, Finland
E. T. VALTONEN
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, POB 35, FI-40014University of Jyväskylä, Finland
O. SEPPÄLÄ
Affiliation:
EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and ETH-Zürich, Institute of Integrative Biology (IBZ), Überlandstrasse 133, PO Box 611, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
*
*Corresponding author: Current address: Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology, August-Thienemann-Strasse 2, 24306Plön, Germany. Tel: +49 45227 63258. Fax: +49 45227 63310. E-mail: benesh@mpil-ploen.mpg.de
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Summary

Trophically-transmitted parasites frequently alter multiple aspects of their host's phenotype. Correlations between modified characteristics may suggest how different traits are mechanistically related, but these potential relationships remain unexplored. We recorded 5 traits from individual isopods infected with an acanthocephalan (Acanthocephalus lucii): hiding, activity, substrate colour preference, body (pereon) coloration, and abdominal (pleon) coloration. Infected isopods hid less and had darker abdominal coloration than uninfected isopods. However, in 3 different experiments measuring hiding behaviour (time-scales of observation: 1 h, 8 h, 8 weeks), these two modified traits were not correlated, suggesting they may arise via independent mechanisms. For the shorter experiments (1 h and 8 h), confidence in this null correlation was undermined by low experimental repeatability, i.e. individuals did not behave similarly in repeated trials of the experiment. However, in the 8-week experiment, hiding behaviour was relatively consistent within individuals, so the null correlation at this scale indicates, less equivocally, that hiding and coloration are unrelated. Furthermore, the difference between the hiding behaviour of infected and uninfected isopods varied over 8 weeks, suggesting that the effect of A. lucii infection on host behaviour changes over time. We emphasize the importance of carefully designed protocols for investigating multidimensionality in host manipulation.

Keywords

altered host phenotypeplastic/flexible behaviourrepeatabilityAsellus aquaticusAcanthocephalaintermediate hostisopod
Type
Original Articles
Information
Parasitology , Volume 135 , Issue 5 , May 2008 , pp. 617 - 626
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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