Migratory Recovery from Infection as a Selective Pressure for the Evolution of Migration

Migration, a widespread animal behavior, can influence how individuals acquire and transmit pathogens. Past work has demonstrated that migration can reduce the costs of pathogen or parasite infection through two processes: migratory escape from infected areas or individuals and migratory culling of infected individuals. Here, we propose a third process: migratory recovery, where infected individuals lose their parasites and recover from infection during migration. Recovery can occur when parasites and/or their intermediate hosts cannot support changes in the migratory host's internal or external environment during migration. Thus, parasite mortality increases with migration. Although migratory recovery is likely widespread across species, it remains challenging to empirically test it as a selective force promoting migration. We develop a model and determine the conditions under which migratory recovery theoretically favors the evolution of migration. We show that incorporating migratory recovery into a model of migratory escape increases the range of biologically realistic conditions favoring migration and leads to scenarios where partial migration can evolve. Motivated by empirical estimates of infection costs, our model shows how recovery from infection could drive the evolution of migration. We suggest a number of future directions for both theoretical and empirical research in this area.