scholarly journals Toxoplasma gondii infections are associated with costly boldness toward felids in a wild host

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eben Gering ◽  
Zachary M. Laubach ◽  
Patty Sue D. Weber ◽  
Gisela Soboll Hussey ◽  
Kenna D. S. Lehmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Extended Phenotype ◽  
Trophic Transmission ◽  
Host Behavior ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Wild Host ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
Wild Hosts

AbstractToxoplasma gondii is hypothesized to manipulate the behavior of warm-blooded hosts to promote trophic transmission into the parasite’s definitive feline hosts. A key prediction of this hypothesis is that T. gondii infections of non-feline hosts are associated with costly behavior toward T. gondii’s definitive hosts; however, this effect has not been documented in any of the parasite’s diverse wild hosts during naturally occurring interactions with felines. Here, three decades of field observations reveal that T. gondii-infected hyena cubs approach lions more closely than uninfected peers and have higher rates of lion mortality. We discuss these results in light of 1) the possibility that hyena boldness represents an extended phenotype of the parasite, and 2) alternative scenarios in which T. gondii has not undergone selection to manipulate behavior in host hyenas. Both cases remain plausible and have important ramifications for T. gondii’s impacts on host behavior and fitness in the wild.

scholarly journals Toxoplasma gondii infections are associated with boldness towards lions in wild hyena hosts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eben Gering ◽  
Zachary M. Laubach ◽  
Patricia Weber ◽  
Gisela Soboll Hussey ◽  
Kenna D. S. Lehmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Parasite Transmission ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Extended Phenotype ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Behavioral Interactions ◽  
Behavioral Manipulation ◽  
Wild Host ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Globally Distributed

AbstractToxoplasma gondii is widely reported to manipulate the behavior of its non-definitive hosts in ways that promote lethal interactions with the parasite’s definitive feline hosts. Nonetheless, there is a lack of data on the association between T. gondii infection and costly behavioral interactions with felids in nature. Here, we report that three decades of field observations reveal T. gondii infected hyena cubs approach lions more closely than uninfected peers and have higher rates of lion mortality. Our findings support the hypothesis that T. gondii’s manipulation of host boldness is an extended phenotype that promotes parasite transmission from intermediate hosts to feline predators. While upregulating hyena boldness toward lions might achieve this, it may also reflect a collateral influence of manipulative traits that evolved in other hosts (e.g., rodents). In either case, our findings corroborate the potential impacts of a globally distributed and generalist parasite (T. gondii) on fitness-related interaction with felids in a wild host.One Sentence SummaryWild hyenas infected with the parasite T. gondii show evidence of costly behavioral manipulation when interacting with lions.

Some Remarks on Deer (Cervidae) in Ancient Egypt

1987 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 238-243
Author(s):  
Patrick F. Houlihan
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Fallow Deer ◽  
Ancient Egypt ◽  
Dama Dama ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Dama Mesopotamica ◽  
In The Wild

The evidence for deer (Cervidae) in ancient Egypt is reviewed briefly. The question of whether deer ever existed in the wild as an element of the Egyptian fauna, or were only known from rare exotic imports, cannot be conclusively answered yet. It is quite likely, however, based upon the records of the Egyptians themselves, that deer were native, whether naturally occurring or introduced. While the identification of the species depicted as the Persian Fallow Deer (Dama dama mesopotamica) is probably correct, the Barbary Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) remains a possibility.

scholarly journals Orb-weaving spiders show a correlated syndrome of morphology and web structure in the wild

2020 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-463
Author(s):  
David N Fisher ◽  
Jonathan N Pruitt ◽  
Justin Yeager
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Length ◽  
Population Variation ◽  
Extended Phenotype ◽  
Predation Threat ◽  
Physical Body ◽  
Common Features ◽  
Web Structure ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Web Construction

Abstract Extended phenotypes are traits that exist outside the physical body of organisms. Despite their role in the lives of the organisms that express them and other organisms influenced by extended phenotypes, the consistency and covariance with morphological and behavioural traits of extended phenotypes has rarely been evaluated. We repeatedly measured an extended phenotype involved in prey acquisition (web structure) of wild orb-weaving spiders (Micrathena vigorsii), which re-build their webs daily. We related web structure to behaviours and spider body length. Web diameter and web density were repeatable among individuals, reaction to a predation threat was very marginally so, and response to a prey stimulus and web evenness were not repeatable. Larger spiders spun wider webs, had webs with increased thread spacing, and the spider possibly tended to react more slowly to a predation threat. When a spider built a relatively larger web it was also a relatively less dense and less even web. The repeatability of web construction and relationship with spider body size we found may be common features of intra-population variation in web structure in spiders. By estimating the consistency and covariances of extended phenotypes we can begin to evaluate what maintains their variation and how they might evolve.

scholarly journals The social and ecological costs of an ‘over-extended' phenotype

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1822) ◽  
pp. 20152359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyndon Alexander Jordan ◽  
Sean M. Maguire ◽  
Hans A. Hofmann ◽  
Masanori Kohda
Keyword(s):  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Natural Experiments ◽  
Extended Phenotype ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
The Social ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Social Policing ◽  
Ecological Cost

Extended phenotypes offer a unique opportunity to experimentally manipulate and identify sources of selection acting on traits under natural conditions. The social cichlid fish Neolamprologus multifasciatus builds nests by digging up aquatic snail shells, creating an extended sexual phenotype that is highly amenable to experimental manipulation through addition of extra shells. Here, we find sources of both positive sexual selection and opposing natural selection acting on this trait; augmenting shell nests increases access to mates, but also increases social aggression and predation risk. Increasing the attractiveness of one male also changed social interactions throughout the social network and altered the entire community structure. Manipulated males produced and received more displays from neighbouring females, who also joined augmented male territories at higher rates than unmanipulated groups. However, males in more attractive territories received more aggression from neighbouring males, potentially as a form of social policing. We also detected a significant ecological cost of the ‘over-extended' phenotype; heterospecific predators usurped augmented nests at higher rates, using them as breeding sites and displacing residents. Using these natural experiments, we find that both social and ecological interactions generate clear sources of selection mediating the expression of an extended phenotype in the wild.

scholarly journals Infectious Causation of Abnormal Host Behavior: Toxoplasma gondii and Its Potential Association With Dopey Fox Syndrome

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Milne ◽  
Chelsea Fujimoto ◽  
Theodor Bean ◽  
Harry J. Peters ◽  
Martin Hemmington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Host Behavior ◽  
Potential Association

The event geological maps: a new predictive tool to identify potential NOA (Naturally Occurring Asbestos) lithologies, Example from the Pyrenees (France).

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Cagnard ◽  
Didier Lahondère ◽  
Benjamin Le Bayon ◽  
Aurore Hertout ◽  
Thierry Baudin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrothermal Alteration ◽  
Regional Metamorphism ◽  
Contact Metamorphism ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Predictive Tool ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Geological Maps ◽  
Naturally Occurring Asbestos ◽  
Geological Event

<p>The event geological maps consist in innovative numerical maps that were just designed and produced for the first time, as part of the RGF (“French Geological Referential”) mapping program in the Pyrenees. Rocks acquire their mineralogical, structural and textural characteristics through a complex geological history reflecting successive stages of transformation (i.e. metamorphism, deformation, alteration…), so called “geological events”. Classical geological maps can only represent some of these events.  In the Pyrenean orogenic belt, which results from a polyphase tectono-metamorphic history over 600 Ma (from Precambrian to present), 3400 geological events were identified. Such geological events were classified by types (e.g. deposit, volcanism, intrusion, metamorphism, weathering, hydrothermal alteration…) and time periods. They were referenced into a database and associated to mapped features (120,000 polygons and lines), coming from a compilation of 60 geological maps at 1: 50,000 scale.</p><p>In the Pyrenees, Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA) mostly occur in specific lithologies such as ultrabasic, basic and intermediate plutonic rocks, and meta-limestones. These rocks may be affected by different metamorphic events (i.e. hydrothermal alteration, greenschist and/or HT-LP regional metamorphism, contact metamorphism). We performed a GIS treatment to produce a predictive map of potential NOA hosting lithologies. This treatment crosses lithological and selected geological event informations (e.g different metamorphic and alteration events).</p><p>Subsequent geological field investigations with associated sampling and laboratory analyses (combining optical microscopy, microprobe and SEM analyses) allowed us to identify and characterize fibrous and asbestiform mineralogical species. Results of this work particularly emphasize: (i) the importance of actinolite-asbestos in doleritic rocks, and (ii) the occurrence of fibrous actinolite/tremolite in different marbles and skarns. Finally, we present a 1: 50,000 scale map of potential NOA occurrences in the Pyrenees.</p><p>Conversely, field observations allowed us to improve both the lithostratigraphic and the event geological maps, in particular with the identification of geological domains where intense hydrothermal alteration was not previously mapped. All the data (maps of potential NOA occurrences, field observations and results of laboratory analyses) are stored in a geospatial database, partly accessible to the public. This work illustrates a possible use of geological event maps as a powerful innovative and predictivity tool. This approach will be useful in the context of the evolution of French regulations now imposing the search for asbestos before all types of works in natural environments.</p>

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