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Vertebrate defense against parasites: Interactions between avoidance, resistance, and tolerance
1Department of Biological and Environmental Science University of Jyvaskyla Jyvaskyla Finland.
Ecology and Evolution
|January 25, 2017
Summary
Host defense against parasites involves avoidance, resistance, and tolerance. This study found a trade-off between resistance and tolerance in salmonid fish, suggesting defense strategies are a compromise.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Parasitology
Background:
- Host defense against parasites encompasses avoidance, resistance, and tolerance strategies.
- Variation in host defense mechanisms is common and may involve trade-offs with life-history traits.
- Interactions between different defense mechanisms, such as resistance and tolerance, are understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate variation in host defense traits (avoidance, resistance, tolerance) in salmonid fish.
- To examine the relationships among these defense traits within a natural host-parasite system.
- To understand the implications of defense trait trade-offs for host-parasite interactions.
Main Methods:
- Common garden experiments were conducted on natural host-parasite system: trematode eye-fluke (Diplostomum pseudospathaceum) and its fish host.
- Host individuals from four genetically distinct populations of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (Salmo trutta trutta) were analyzed.
- Variation in resistance and tolerance was quantified, and trade-offs between defense mechanisms were assessed.
Main Results:
- Species-specific variation was observed in resistance and tolerance.
- Population-specific variation was found in resistance.
- Evidence for a trade-off between resistance and tolerance was demonstrated.
Conclusions:
- Host defense variation arises partly from compromises between interacting defense traits.
- Environmental factors likely shape the relative importance of different defense strategies.
- Considering multiple host defense components is crucial for predicting host-parasite interaction outcomes.
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