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

Dining on disease: how interactions between infection and environment affect predation risk.

Pieter T J Johnson1, Daniel E Stanton, Eric R Preu

  • 1Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, 680 North Park Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1492, USA. ptjohnson2@wisc.edu

Ecology
|August 30, 2006
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

Unearthing a stream-wetland floodplain system: increased denitrification and nitrate retention at a legacy sediment removal restoration site, Big Spring Run, PA, USA.

Biogeochemistry·2026
Same author

INTRODUCTION OF DR. JANET KOPRIVNIKAR, RECIPIENT OF THE HENRY BALDWIN WARD MEDAL FOR 2024.

The Journal of parasitology·2025
Same author

PHYLOGENETIC POSITION OF NEOGOGATEA (DIPLOSTOMOIDEA; CYATHOCOTYLIDAE).

The Journal of parasitology·2025
Same author

A SURVEY OF ENDOHELMINTH DIVERSITY OF BIRDS COLLECTED IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA.

The Journal of parasitology·2025
Same author

INTRODUCTION OF DR. JANET KOPRIVNIKAR, RECIPIENT OF THE HENRY BALDWIN WARD MEDAL FOR 2024.

The Journal of parasitology·2025
Same author

Modeling Wetland Resources for Spring Migratory Waterbirds Under Different Agricultural Management Scenarios in the Iowa Portion of the Prairie Pothole Region, USA.

Wetlands (Wilmington, N.C.)·2025
Same journal

Combining individual and close-kin mark-recapture to design an effective wildlife population survey.

Ecology·2026
Same journal

Cross-stressor resilience of soil microbial growth and carbon metabolism under climate change.

Ecology·2026
Same journal

Oh deer! Videography reveals a range of defensive behaviors against a cervid by a ground-nesting bird.

Ecology·2026
Same journal

Microbial responses to stress do not promote plant tolerance to same or different stressors.

Ecology·2026
Same journal

A 2100-km jaguar journey redefines mobility and large-scale conservation priorities during large carnivore dispersal.

Ecology·2026
Same journal

Linking genome size variation to phenotypic selection on target traits.

Ecology·2026
See all related articles

Chytrid infections increase Daphnia predation risk by fish, but high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in water eliminates this effect. Infected Daphnia are found in darker waters, concealing their increased visibility.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Parasitology
  • Aquatic Ecology

Background:

  • Ecological interactions between predators and pathogens are increasingly recognized.
  • Few studies have experimentally tested how infection impacts host predation risk.
  • Environmental conditions can influence predator-prey-pathogen dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of chytrid infection (Polycaryum laeve) on Daphnia susceptibility to fish predation.
  • To determine how environmental factors, specifically dissolved organic carbon (DOC), moderate this predator-prey-pathogen interaction.

Main Methods:

  • Combined mesocosm experiments with in situ foraging data and lake surveys.
  • Assessed fish predation preference for infected versus uninfected Daphnia.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Correlated infection prevalence with environmental characteristics like DOC and light penetration.

    • Main Results:

    • Fish (bluegill, yellow perch) preferentially preyed on infected Daphnia (2-10 times higher risk).
    • Higher infection intensity increased predation risk for infected Daphnia.
    • Selective predation on infected Daphnia was eliminated in high DOC water.
    • Chytrid infections were more prevalent in lakes with higher DOC and lower light penetration.

    Conclusions:

    • Parasitism significantly alters host predation risk, with infection intensity being a key factor.
    • Water color (high DOC) can mask the increased visibility of infected hosts, thereby reducing selective predation.
    • Infected Daphnia are more likely to inhabit environments that reduce their conspicuousness, illustrating a strong interplay between parasitism, predation, and environmental conditions.