1
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Walsman JC, Lambe M, Stephenson JF. Associating with kin selects for disease resistance and against tolerance. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240356. [PMID: 38772422 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Behavioural and physiological resistance are key to slowing epidemic spread. We explore the evolutionary and epidemic consequences of their different costs for the evolution of tolerance that trades off with resistance. Behavioural resistance affects social cohesion, with associated group-level costs, while the cost of physiological resistance accrues only to the individual. Further, resistance, and the associated reduction in transmission, benefit susceptible hosts directly, whereas infected hosts only benefit indirectly, by reducing transmission to kin. We therefore model the coevolution of transmission-reducing resistance expressed in susceptible hosts with resistance expressed in infected hosts, as a function of kin association, and analyse the effect on population-level outcomes. Using parameter values for guppies, Poecilia reticulata, and their gyrodactylid parasites, we find that: (1) either susceptible or infected hosts should invest heavily in resistance, but not both; (2) kin association drives investment in physiological resistance more strongly than in behavioural resistance; and (3) even weak levels of kin association can favour altruistic infected hosts that invest heavily in resistance (versus selfish tolerance), eliminating parasites. Overall, our finding that weak kin association affects the coevolution of infected and susceptible investment in both behavioural and physiological resistance suggests that kin selection may affect disease dynamics across systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason C Walsman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Earth Research Institute, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Madalyn Lambe
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jessica F Stephenson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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2
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Turner JW, Prokopenko CM, Kingdon KA, Dupont DLJ, Zabihi-Seissan S, Vander Wal E. Death comes for us all: relating movement-integrated habitat selection and social behavior to human-associated and disease-related mortality among gray wolves. Oecologia 2023; 202:685-697. [PMID: 37515598 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05426-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023]
Abstract
Avoiding death affects biological processes, including behavior. Habitat selection, movement, and sociality are highly flexible behaviors that influence the mortality risks and subsequent fitness of individuals. In the Anthropocene, animals are experiencing increased risks from direct human causes and increased spread of infectious diseases. Using integrated step selection analysis, we tested how the habitat selection, movement, and social behaviors of gray wolves vary in the two months prior to death due to humans (being shot or trapped) or canine distemper virus (CDV). We further tested how those behaviors vary as a prelude to death. We studied populations of wolves that occurred under two different management schemes: a national park managed for conservation and a provincially managed multi-use area. Behaviors that changed prior to death were strongly related to how an animal eventually died. Wolves killed by humans moved slower than wolves that survived and selected to be nearer roads closer in time to their death. Wolves that died due to CDV moved progressively slower as they neared death and reduced their avoidance of wet habitats. All animals, regardless of dying or living, maintained selection to be near packmates across time, which seemingly contributed to disease dynamics in the packs infected with CDV. There were no noticeable differences in behavior between the two management areas. Overall, habitat selection, movement, and sociality interact to put individuals and groups at greater risks, influencing their cause-specific mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie W Turner
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada.
| | - Christina M Prokopenko
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Katrien A Kingdon
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Daniel L J Dupont
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
- Département des sciences expérimentales, Université de Saint-Boniface, 200 ave de la Cathédrale, Winnipeg, MB, R2H 0H7, Canada
| | - Sana Zabihi-Seissan
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 45 Arctic Ave., St. John's, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada
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3
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Le Sage EH, Diamond M, Crespi EJ. Ranavirus infection-induced avoidance behaviour in wood frog juveniles: do amphibians socially distance? Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220359. [PMID: 36259234 PMCID: PMC9579918 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Hosts may limit exposure to pathogens through changes in behaviour, such as avoiding infected individuals or contaminated areas. Here, we tested for a behavioural response to ranavirus infection in juvenile wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) because the majority of dispersal between populations occurs during this life stage. We hypothesized that if infections are transmissible and detectable at this life stage, then susceptibles would display avoidance behaviours when introduced to an infected conspecific. Despite no apparent signs of infection, we observed a greater distance between susceptible-infected pairs, compared to pairs of either two infected or two susceptible animals. Further, distances between susceptible-infected pairs were positively related to the infection intensity of the focal exposed frog, suggesting the cue to avoid infected conspecifics may become more detectable with more intense infections. Although we did not quantify whether the transmission was affected by their distancing, our findings suggest that juvenile frogs have the potential to reduce terrestrial transmission of ranaviruses through avoidance behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. H. Le Sage
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, PO Box 644236, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
| | - M. Diamond
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, PO Box 644236, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
| | - E. J. Crespi
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, PO Box 644236, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
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4
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Fevers and the social costs of acute infection in wild vervet monkeys. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2107881118. [PMID: 34716266 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107881118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Fevers are considered an adaptive response by the host to infection. For gregarious animals, however, fever and the associated sickness behaviors may signal a temporary loss of capacity, offering other group members competitive opportunities. We implanted wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) with miniature data loggers to obtain continuous measurements of core body temperature. We detected 128 fevers in 43 monkeys, totaling 776 fever-days over a 6-year period. Fevers were characterized by a persistent elevation in mean and minimum 24-h body temperature of at least 0.5 °C. Corresponding behavioral data indicated that febrile monkeys spent more time resting and less time feeding, consistent with the known sickness behaviors of lethargy and anorexia, respectively. We found no evidence that fevers influenced the time individuals spent socializing with conspecifics, suggesting social transmission of infection within a group is likely. Notably, febrile monkeys were targeted with twice as much aggression from their conspecifics and were six times more likely to become injured compared to afebrile monkeys. Our results suggest that sickness behavior, together with its agonistic consequences, can carry meaningful costs for highly gregarious mammals. The degree to which social factors modulate the welfare of infected animals is an important aspect to consider when attempting to understand the ecological implications of disease.
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5
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Stockmaier S, Stroeymeyt N, Shattuck EC, Hawley DM, Meyers LA, Bolnick DI. Infectious diseases and social distancing in nature. Science 2021; 371:371/6533/eabc8881. [PMID: 33674468 DOI: 10.1126/science.abc8881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Spread of contagious pathogens critically depends on the number and types of contacts between infectious and susceptible hosts. Changes in social behavior by susceptible, exposed, or sick individuals thus have far-reaching downstream consequences for infectious disease spread. Although "social distancing" is now an all too familiar strategy for managing COVID-19, nonhuman animals also exhibit pathogen-induced changes in social interactions. Here, we synthesize the effects of infectious pathogens on social interactions in animals (including humans), review what is known about underlying mechanisms, and consider implications for evolution and epidemiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stockmaier
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Integrative Biology, Austin, TX, USA.
| | | | - Eric C Shattuck
- Institute for Health Disparities Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Dana M Hawley
- Virginia Tech, Department of Biological Sciences, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Lauren Ancel Meyers
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Integrative Biology, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Daniel I Bolnick
- University of Connecticut, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Storrs, CT, USA
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6
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Hawley DM, Gibson AK, Townsend AK, Craft ME, Stephenson JF. Bidirectional interactions between host social behaviour and parasites arise through ecological and evolutionary processes. Parasitology 2021; 148:274-288. [PMID: 33092680 PMCID: PMC11010184 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182020002048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
An animal's social behaviour both influences and changes in response to its parasites. Here we consider these bidirectional links between host social behaviours and parasite infection, both those that occur from ecological vs evolutionary processes. First, we review how social behaviours of individuals and groups influence ecological patterns of parasite transmission. We then discuss how parasite infection, in turn, can alter host social interactions by changing the behaviour of both infected and uninfected individuals. Together, these ecological feedbacks between social behaviour and parasite infection can result in important epidemiological consequences. Next, we consider the ways in which host social behaviours evolve in response to parasites, highlighting constraints that arise from the need for hosts to maintain benefits of sociality while minimizing fitness costs of parasites. Finally, we consider how host social behaviours shape the population genetic structure of parasites and the evolution of key parasite traits, such as virulence. Overall, these bidirectional relationships between host social behaviours and parasites are an important yet often underappreciated component of population-level disease dynamics and host-parasite coevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana M. Hawley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA24061, USA
| | - Amanda K. Gibson
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA22903, USA
| | | | - Meggan E. Craft
- Department of Veterinary Population Medicine and Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN55108, USA
| | - Jessica F. Stephenson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA15260, USA
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7
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Hamilton DG, Jones ME, Cameron EZ, Kerlin DH, McCallum H, Storfer A, Hohenlohe PA, Hamede RK. Infectious disease and sickness behaviour: tumour progression affects interaction patterns and social network structure in wild Tasmanian devils. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20202454. [PMID: 33290679 PMCID: PMC7739934 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Infectious diseases, including transmissible cancers, can have a broad range of impacts on host behaviour, particularly in the latter stages of disease progression. However, the difficulty of early diagnoses makes the study of behavioural influences of disease in wild animals a challenging task. Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) are affected by a transmissible cancer, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), in which tumours are externally visible as they progress. Using telemetry and mark-recapture datasets, we quantify the impacts of cancer progression on the behaviour of wild devils by assessing how interaction patterns within the social network of a population change with increasing tumour load. The progression of DFTD negatively influences devils' likelihood of interaction within their network. Infected devils were more active within their network late in the mating season, a pattern with repercussions for DFTD transmission. Our study provides a rare opportunity to quantify and understand the behavioural feedbacks of disease in wildlife and how they may affect transmission and population dynamics in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G. Hamilton
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia,e-mail:
| | - Menna E. Jones
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
| | - Elissa Z. Cameron
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia,School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Douglas H. Kerlin
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia
| | - Hamish McCallum
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia
| | - Andrew Storfer
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, USA
| | | | - Rodrigo K. Hamede
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia,CANECEV, Centre de Recherches Ecologiques et Evolutives sur le Cancer (CREEC), Montpellier 34090, France,e-mail:
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8
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Kavaliers M, Ossenkopp KP, Choleris E. Pathogens, odors, and disgust in rodents. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 119:281-293. [PMID: 33031813 PMCID: PMC7536123 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
All animals are under the constant threat of attack by parasites. The mere presence of parasite threat can alter behavior before infection takes place. These effects involve pathogen disgust, an evolutionarily conserved affective/emotional system that functions to detect cues associated with parasites and infection and facilitate avoidance behaviors. Animals gauge the infection status of conspecific and the salience of the threat they represent on the basis of various sensory cues. Odors in particular are a major source of social information about conspecifics and the infection threat they present. Here we briefly consider the origins, expression, and regulation of the fundamental features of odor mediated pathogen disgust in rodents. We briefly review aspects of: (1) the expression of affective states and emotions and in particular, disgust, in rodents; (2) olfactory mediated recognition and avoidance of potentially infected conspecifics and the impact of pathogen disgust and its' fundamental features on behavior; (3) pathogen disgust associated trade-offs; (4) the neurobiological mechanisms, and in particular the roles of the nonapeptide, oxytocin, and steroidal hormones, in the expression of pathogen disgust and the regulation of avoidance behaviors and concomitant trade-offs. Understanding the roles of pathogen disgust in rodents can provide insights into the regulation and expression of responses to pathogens and infection in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Kavaliers
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Klaus-Peter Ossenkopp
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Elena Choleris
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
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9
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Bressan P. Strangers look sicker (with implications in times of COVID-19). Bioessays 2020; 43:e2000158. [PMID: 33215727 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202000158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 10/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
We animals have evolved a variety of mechanisms to avoid conspecifics who might be infected. It is currently unclear whether and why this "behavioral immune system" targets unfamiliar individuals more than familiar ones. Here I answer this question in humans, using publicly available data of a recent study on 1969 participants from India and 1615 from the USA. The apparent health of a male stranger, as estimated from his face, and the comfort with contact with him were a direct function of his similarity to the men in the local community. This held true regardless of whether the face carried overt signs of infection. I conclude that our behavioral immune system is finely tuned to degrees of outgroupness - and that cues of outgroupness are partly processed as cues of infectiousness. These findings, which were consistent across the two cultures, support the notion that the pathogens of strangers are perceived as more dangerous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Bressan
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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10
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Stockmaier S, Bolnick DI, Page RA, Carter GG. Sickness effects on social interactions depend on the type of behaviour and relationship. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:1387-1394. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stockmaier
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panama
| | - Daniel I. Bolnick
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs CT USA
| | | | - Gerald G. Carter
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panama
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
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11
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Alexander KA, Nichols CA. Behavior - Landscape Interactions May Create Super-Spreader Environments: Vigilance-Olfactory Interactions Across Land Type and Disease Transmission Potential in the Banded Mongoose. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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12
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Baudouin A, Gatti S, Levréro F, Genton C, Cristescu RH, Billy V, Motsch P, Pierre JS, Le Gouar P, Ménard N. Disease avoidance, and breeding group age and size condition the dispersal patterns of western lowland gorilla females. Ecology 2019; 100:e02786. [PMID: 31188468 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Revised: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Social dispersal is an important feature of population dynamics. When female mammals occur in polygynous groups, their dispersal decisions are conditioned by various female-, male-, and group-related factors. Among them, the influence of disease often remains difficult to assess. To address this challenge, we used long-term monitoring data from two gorilla populations (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) affected by infectious skin disease lesions. After controlling for other potentially influential factors, we investigated to which extent disease avoidance drives the dispersal decisions of gorilla females. We showed that the infection of a silverback of a breeding group by the skin disease increased the probability of adult females to emigrate. Moreover, adult females avoided breeding groups with a high prevalence of skin disease by emigrating from them and immigrating into healthier ones. Age of the breeding group was also an important factor. Adult females left older groups, near the end of a male tenure, to join younger ones led by younger fully grown silverbacks that could be of high reproductive and protective value. Our study highlights that, although females select for high-quality males, disease avoidance is a critical driver of their dispersion decision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Baudouin
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Biological Station of Paimpont, Paimpont, 35380, France
| | - Sylvain Gatti
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Biological Station of Paimpont, Paimpont, 35380, France
| | - Florence Levréro
- Université de Saint-Etienne/Lyon, Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, Neuro-PSI, CNRS UMR 9197, 23 rue des Dr Michelon, Saint-Etienne, 42023, France
| | - Céline Genton
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Biological Station of Paimpont, Paimpont, 35380, France
| | - Romane H Cristescu
- GeneCology, Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, Queensland, 4556, Australia
| | - Vincent Billy
- Odzala-Kokoua National Park, African Parks Network, Mbomo, Republic of Congo
| | - Peggy Motsch
- Odzala-Kokoua National Park, African Parks Network, Mbomo, Republic of Congo
| | - Jean-Sébastien Pierre
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Avenue du Général Leclerc, Rennes, 35042, France
| | - Pascaline Le Gouar
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Biological Station of Paimpont, Paimpont, 35380, France
| | - Nelly Ménard
- UMR 6553, ECOBIO: Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, CNRS/University of Rennes 1, Biological Station of Paimpont, Paimpont, 35380, France
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Kavaliers M, Choleris E. The role of social cognition in parasite and pathogen avoidance. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0206. [PMID: 29866919 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The acquisition and use of social information are integral to social behaviour and parasite/pathogen avoidance. This involves social cognition which encompasses mechanisms for acquiring, processing, retaining and acting on social information. Social cognition entails the acquisition of social information about others (i.e. social recognition) and from others (i.e. social learning). Social cognition involves assessing other individuals and their infection status and the pathogen and parasite threat they pose and deciding about when and how to interact with them. Social cognition provides a framework for examining pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours and their associated neurobiological mechanisms. Here, we briefly consider the relationships between social cognition and olfactory-mediated pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours. We briefly discuss aspects of (i) social recognition of actual and potentially infected individuals and the impact of parasite/pathogen threat on mate and social partner choice; (ii) the roles of 'out-groups' (strangers, unfamiliar individuals) and 'in-groups' (familiar individuals) in the expression of parasite/pathogen avoidance behaviours; (iii) individual and social learning, i.e. the utilization of the pathogen recognition and avoidance responses of others; and (iv) the neurobiological mechanisms, in particular the roles of the nonapeptide, oxytocin and steroid hormones (oestrogens) associated with social cognition and parasite/pathogen avoidance.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Kavaliers
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, Social Science Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2 .,Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
| | - Elena Choleris
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
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14
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15
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Infection-induced behavioural changes reduce connectivity and the potential for disease spread in wild mice contact networks. Sci Rep 2016; 6:31790. [PMID: 27548906 PMCID: PMC4993150 DOI: 10.1038/srep31790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2016] [Accepted: 07/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Infection may modify the behaviour of the host and of its conspecifics in a group, potentially altering social connectivity. Because many infectious diseases are transmitted through social contact, social connectivity changes can impact transmission dynamics. Previous approaches to understanding disease transmission dynamics in wild populations were limited in their ability to disentangle different factors that determine the outcome of disease outbreaks. Here we ask how social connectivity is affected by infection and how this relationship impacts disease transmission dynamics. We experimentally manipulated disease status of wild house mice using an immune challenge and monitored social interactions within this free-living population before and after manipulation using automated tracking. The immune-challenged animals showed reduced connectivity to their social groups, which happened as a function of their own behaviour, rather than through conspecific avoidance. We incorporated these disease-induced changes of social connectivity among individuals into models of disease outbreaks over the empirically-derived networks. The models revealed that changes in host behaviour frequently resulted in the disease being contained to very few animals, as opposed to becoming widespread. Our results highlight the importance of considering the role that behavioural alterations during infection can have on social dynamics when evaluating the potential for disease outbreaks.
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16
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Flint BF, Hawley DM, Alexander KA. Do not feed the wildlife: associations between garbage use, aggression, and disease in banded mongooses (Mungos mungo). Ecol Evol 2016; 6:5932-9. [PMID: 27547366 PMCID: PMC4983603 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2015] [Revised: 06/26/2016] [Accepted: 06/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Urbanization and other human modifications of the landscape may indirectly affect disease dynamics by altering host behavior in ways that influence pathogen transmission. Few opportunities arise to investigate behaviorally mediated effects of human habitat modification in natural host–pathogen systems, but we provide a potential example of this phenomenon in banded mongooses (Mungos mungo), a social mammal. Our banded mongoose study population in Botswana is endemically infected with a novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex pathogen, M. mungi, that primarily invades the mongoose host through the nasal planum and breaks in the skin. In this system, several study troops have access to human garbage sites and other modified landscapes for foraging. Banded mongooses in our study site (N = 4 troops, ~130 individuals) had significantly higher within‐troop aggression levels when foraging in garbage compared to other foraging habitats. Second, monthly rates of aggression were a significant predictor of monthly number of injuries in troops. Finally, injured individuals had a 75% incidence of clinical tuberculosis (TB) compared to a 0% incidence in visibly uninjured mongooses during the study period. Our data suggest that mongoose troops that forage in garbage may be at greater risk of acquiring TB by incurring injuries that may allow for pathogen invasion. Our study suggests the need to consider the indirect effects of garbage on behavior and wildlife health when developing waste management approaches in human‐modified areas.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dana M Hawley
- Department of Biological Sciences Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia
| | - Kathleen A Alexander
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia; Center for African Resource: Animals Communities, and Land use (CARACAL) Kasane Botswana
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17
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Duboscq J, Romano V, Sueur C, MacIntosh AJ. Network centrality and seasonality interact to predict lice load in a social primate. Sci Rep 2016; 6:22095. [PMID: 26915589 PMCID: PMC4768153 DOI: 10.1038/srep22095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2015] [Accepted: 02/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Lice are socially-transmitted ectoparasites. Transmission depends upon their host's degree of contact with conspecifics. While grooming facilitates ectoparasite transmission via body contact, it also constrains their spread through parasite removal. We investigated relations between parasite burden and sociality in female Japanese macaques following two opposing predictions: i) central females in contact/grooming networks harbour more lice, related to their numerous contacts; ii) central females harbour fewer lice, related to receiving more grooming. We estimated lice load non-invasively using the conspicuous louse egg-picking behaviour performed by macaques during grooming. We tested for covariation in several centrality measures and lice load, controlling for season, female reproductive state and dominance rank. Results show that the interaction between degree centrality (number of partners) and seasonality predicted lice load: females interacting with more partners had fewer lice than those interacting with fewer partners in winter and summer, whereas there was no relationship between lice load and centrality in spring and fall. This is counter to the prediction that increased contact leads to greater louse burden but fits the prediction that social grooming limits louse burden. Interactions between environmental seasonality and both parasite and host biology appeared to mediate the role of social processes in louse burden.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Duboscq
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Strasbourg, France
- Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France
| | - Valeria Romano
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Strasbourg, France
- Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France
| | - Cédric Sueur
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Strasbourg, France
- Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France
- Unit of Social Ecology, CP231, Université libre de Bruxelles, Campus Plaine, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Andrew J.J. MacIntosh
- Kyoto University Primate Research Institute, Inuyama, Japan
- Kyoto University Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto, Japan
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