Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 24, 2026
09:34
Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila
Published on: August 22, 2013
15.0K
Host traits and competitive ability jointly structure disease dynamics and community assembly
Devin Kirk1, Dylan Shea1, Denon Start1
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Journal of Animal Ecology
|May 24, 2019
Summary
Host traits linking competition and parasitism significantly impact community structure and disease dynamics. Understanding these relationships can predict how ecological interactions jointly shape biodiversity and parasite prevalence.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Parasitism and competition are fundamental ecological interactions shaping communities.
- Host traits influencing competition and parasitism are often correlated due to trade-offs or condition dependence.
- The combined effects of these trait relationships on community and disease dynamics are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and analyze relationships between parasite-related host traits and competitive ability.
- To model how these trait relationships influence community structure and disease dynamics.
- To explore the consequences for host coexistence and parasite prevalence.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a literature review of studies examining parasite-related host traits and competitive ability.
- Developed a simple model incorporating competitive asymmetries and trait relationships in a multi-host community.
- Simulated scenarios with varying strengths and directions of trait relationships.
Main Results:
- Transmission-competitive ability relationships were most frequently reported, with superior competitors showing elevated transmission in ~80% of cases.
- Significant links were also found between competitive ability and virulence/parasite shedding.
- Model simulations demonstrated that trait relationships can lead to diverse outcomes, including varying parasite prevalence and host species coexistence.
Conclusions:
- Parasite-competitive ability relationships are likely common in nature.
- Integrating these relationships reveals novel community and epidemiological dynamics.
- Generalizations about these interactions can help predict how parasitism and competition jointly structure disease and biodiversity.
Related Concept Videos
01:16Structural Joints: Synovial Joints
6.5K
Synovial joints are the most common type of joint in the body. A key structural characteristic for a synovial joint is the presence of a joint cavity. This fluid-filled space is where the articulating surfaces of the bones contact each other. Also, unlike fibrous or cartilaginous joints, the articulating bone surfaces at a synovial joint are not directly connected to each other with fibrous connective tissue or cartilage. This gives the bones of a synovial joint the ability to move smoothly...
6.5K
01:03Structural Joints: Fibrous Joints
3.7K
Fibrous joints are a type of joint where the bones are connected by fibrous connective tissue. These joints provide stability and minimal to no movement between the articulating bones. There are three types of fibrous joints.
Suture
All the bones of the skull, except for the mandible, are joined to each other by a fibrous joint called a suture. The fibrous connective tissue found at a suture strongly unites the adjacent skull bones and thus helps to protect the brain and form the face. In...
Suture
All the bones of the skull, except for the mandible, are joined to each other by a fibrous joint called a suture. The fibrous connective tissue found at a suture strongly unites the adjacent skull bones and thus helps to protect the brain and form the face. In...
3.7K
01:17Structural Joints: Cartilaginous Joints
4.0K
As the name indicates, at a cartilaginous joint, the adjacent bones are united by cartilage, a tough but flexible type of connective tissue. Unlike synovial joints, these types of joints lack a joint cavity and involve bones joined together by either hyaline cartilage or fibrocartilage.
There are two types of cartilaginous joints:
Synchondrosis
A synchondrosis ("joined by cartilage") is a cartilaginous joint where bones are connected by hyaline cartilage. Synchondrosis may be temporary...
There are two types of cartilaginous joints:
Synchondrosis
A synchondrosis ("joined by cartilage") is a cartilaginous joint where bones are connected by hyaline cartilage. Synchondrosis may be temporary...
4.0K
02:08Trait and State Self-Esteem
11.5K
The term self-esteem is often used generically, to refer to how people feel about themselves. However, according to research, there are three distinct constructs that should not be used interchangeably (Brown & Marshall, 2006).
11.5K
01:20Structural Classification of Joints
7.1K
Joints, also known as articulations, are classified based on their structural characteristics, i.e., based on whether the articulating surfaces of the adjacent bones are directly connected by fibrous connective tissue or cartilage, or whether the articulating surfaces contact each other within a fluid-filled joint cavity. These differences serve to divide the joints of the body into three structural classifications.
A fibrous joint is where the adjacent bones are united by fibrous connective...
A fibrous joint is where the adjacent bones are united by fibrous connective...
7.1K
02:34Competition
24.4K
When organisms require the same limited resources within an environment, they may have to compete for them. Competition is a net-negative interaction. Even if two competing individuals or populations do not interact directly, the overall fitness of both competitors is lowered as a result of not having full access to the limited resource.
24.4K