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Updated: Jul 31, 2025

Inoculating Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes with Beads to Induce and Measure the Melanization Immune Response
Published on: January 12, 2017
Interspecific host competition and parasite virulence evolution
Adam Z Hasik1, Kayla C King2, Hadas Hawlena3
1Jacob Blaustein Center for Scientific Cooperation, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 8499000 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.
Abstract:
Virulence, the harm to hosts caused by parasite infection, can be selected for by several ecological factors acting synergistically or antagonistically. Here, we focus on the potential for interspecific host competition to shape virulence through such a network of effects. We first summarize how host natural mortality, body mass changes, population density and community diversity affect virulence evolution. We then introduce an initial conceptual framework highlighting how these host factors, which change during host competition, may drive virulence evolution via impacts on life-history trade-offs. We argue that the multi-faceted nature of both interspecific host competition and virulence evolution still requires consideration and experimentation to disentangle contrasting mechanisms. It also necessitates a differential treatment for parasites with various transmission strategies. However, such a comprehensive approach focusing on the role of interspecific host competition is essential to understand the processes driving the evolution of virulence in a tangled bank.
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