Long-term disease dynamics for a specialized parasite of ant societies: a field study.

Many studies have investigated how social insects behave when a parasite is introduced into their colonies. These studies have been conducted in the laboratory, and we still have a limited understanding of the dynamics of ant-parasite interactions under natural conditions. Here we consider a special...

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Autores principales:	Raquel G Loreto, Simon L Elliot, Mayara L R Freitas, Thairine M Pereira, David P Hughes
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b36904a379f540ad9416a35d244ed7d3
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b36904a379f540ad9416a35d244ed7d32021-11-25T06:04:16ZLong-term disease dynamics for a specialized parasite of ant societies: a field study.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0103516https://doaj.org/article/b36904a379f540ad9416a35d244ed7d32014-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/25133749/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Many studies have investigated how social insects behave when a parasite is introduced into their colonies. These studies have been conducted in the laboratory, and we still have a limited understanding of the dynamics of ant-parasite interactions under natural conditions. Here we consider a specialized parasite of ant societies (Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis infecting Camponotus rufipes) within a rainforest. We first established that the parasite is unable to develop to transmission stage when introduced within the host nest. Secondly, we surveyed all colonies in the studied area and recorded 100% prevalence at the colony level (all colonies were infected). Finally, we conducted a long-term detailed census of parasite pressure, by mapping the position of infected dead ants and foraging trails (future hosts) in the immediate vicinity of the colonies over 20 months. We report new dead infected ants for all the months we conducted the census--at an average of 14.5 cadavers/month/colony. Based on the low infection rate, the absence of colony collapse or complete recovery of the colonies, we suggest that this parasite represents a chronic infection in the ant societies. We also proposed a "terminal host model of transmission" that links the age-related polyethism to the persistence of a parasitic infection.Raquel G LoretoSimon L ElliotMayara L R FreitasThairine M PereiraDavid P HughesPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 8, p e103516 (2014)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Raquel G Loreto Simon L Elliot Mayara L R Freitas Thairine M Pereira David P Hughes Long-term disease dynamics for a specialized parasite of ant societies: a field study.
description	Many studies have investigated how social insects behave when a parasite is introduced into their colonies. These studies have been conducted in the laboratory, and we still have a limited understanding of the dynamics of ant-parasite interactions under natural conditions. Here we consider a specialized parasite of ant societies (Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis infecting Camponotus rufipes) within a rainforest. We first established that the parasite is unable to develop to transmission stage when introduced within the host nest. Secondly, we surveyed all colonies in the studied area and recorded 100% prevalence at the colony level (all colonies were infected). Finally, we conducted a long-term detailed census of parasite pressure, by mapping the position of infected dead ants and foraging trails (future hosts) in the immediate vicinity of the colonies over 20 months. We report new dead infected ants for all the months we conducted the census--at an average of 14.5 cadavers/month/colony. Based on the low infection rate, the absence of colony collapse or complete recovery of the colonies, we suggest that this parasite represents a chronic infection in the ant societies. We also proposed a "terminal host model of transmission" that links the age-related polyethism to the persistence of a parasitic infection.
format	article
author	Raquel G Loreto Simon L Elliot Mayara L R Freitas Thairine M Pereira David P Hughes
author_facet	Raquel G Loreto Simon L Elliot Mayara L R Freitas Thairine M Pereira David P Hughes
author_sort	Raquel G Loreto
title	Long-term disease dynamics for a specialized parasite of ant societies: a field study.
title_short	Long-term disease dynamics for a specialized parasite of ant societies: a field study.
title_full	Long-term disease dynamics for a specialized parasite of ant societies: a field study.
title_fullStr	Long-term disease dynamics for a specialized parasite of ant societies: a field study.
title_full_unstemmed	Long-term disease dynamics for a specialized parasite of ant societies: a field study.
title_sort	long-term disease dynamics for a specialized parasite of ant societies: a field study.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2014
url	https://doaj.org/article/b36904a379f540ad9416a35d244ed7d3
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Long-term disease dynamics for a specialized parasite of ant societies: a field study.

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