Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Parasite-mediated predation between native and invasive amphipods.

Calum MacNeil1, Jaimie T A Dick, Melanie J Hatcher

  • 1School of Biology and Biochemistry, Queen's University of Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK. c.macneil@qub.ac.uk

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|June 21, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Enter Salmon: Trophic risk mediates riverine barrier-crossing behaviours of parr.

The Journal of animal ecology·2026
Same author

Dark diversity framework reconciles Darwin's naturalization conundrum for freshwater fish invasions.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Native and Non-Native Populations Respond Unevenly to River Barrier Removals.

Global change biology·2026
Same author

Parallel concepts and future opportunities across the biological control and invasion sciences.

Journal of environmental management·2026
Same author

Substantial cold tolerance in all life stages of Culicoides nubeculosus (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

Journal of medical entomology·2026
Same author

A Systems Perspective: How Social-Ecological Networks Can Improve Our Understanding and Management of Biological Invasions.

Bioscience·2026

Parasites can alter predator-prey dynamics between native and invasive species. This study shows a native amphipod parasite can facilitate invasions by changing native species

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Parasitology
  • Invasion Biology

Background:

  • Parasites influence biological communities by regulating populations and mediating interactions like apparent competition.
  • The role of parasites in biological invasions, particularly in mediating predation among native and invasive species, remains poorly understood.
  • Mutual predation is a key factor determining invasion success in freshwater amphipod communities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how parasites mediate mutual intraguild predation between native and invasive amphipod species.
  • To determine if a specific microsporidian parasite in Gammarus duebeni celticus facilitates invasion by other amphipod species.
  • To elucidate the mechanisms by which parasites alter host fitness and competitive interactions during invasion.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Field and laboratory experiments were conducted using native (Gammarus duebeni celticus) and invasive amphipod species (G. tigrinus, G. pulex, Crangonyx pseudogracilis).
  • Infection prevalence of the microsporidian parasite Pleistophora sp. in G. d. celticus was assessed.
  • Manipulations examined the effects of parasitism on host fitness (survivorship, size, fecundity) in single-species and mixed-species contexts, focusing on predation interactions.

Main Results:

  • The microsporidian parasite Pleistophora sp. infected up to 90% of the native amphipod G. d. celticus but did not infect the three invasive species.
  • The parasite exhibited cryptic virulence: no negative effects on G. d. celticus fitness in single-species populations were observed.
  • In mixed-species interactions, parasitized G. d. celticus showed reduced predation on smaller invaders and increased vulnerability to larger invaders.

Conclusions:

  • Parasites can significantly influence biological invasions by altering interspecific predation dynamics.
  • The microsporidian parasite Pleistophora sp. facilitates invasion by modifying the competitive hierarchy and predation relationships between native and invasive amphipods.
  • Parasite-mediated changes in host behavior and fitness can shift the outcome of invasions, highlighting the importance of considering host-parasite interactions in invasion ecology.