Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
By way of example, a parasite that reproduces in an intermediate host may require, as part of their life cycle, that the intermediate host be eaten by a predator at a higher trophic level, and some parasites are capable of altering the behavior of the intermediate host to make such predation more likely; [1] [2] a mechanism that has been called ...
Chordodes formosanus is a horsehair worm that has the praying mantis as its definitive host. Horsehair worms are obligate parasites that pass through different hosts at various stages. These worms can grow up to 90 centimetres (35 in) long and can be extremely dangerous for their host, especially the praying mantis. [1] [2]
A single parasite species usually has an aggregated distribution across host animals, which means that most hosts carry few parasites, while a few hosts carry the vast majority of parasite individuals. This poses considerable problems for students of parasite ecology, as it renders parametric statistics as commonly used by biologists invalid.
This benefit comes at the cost of provoking an evolutionary arms race between parasite and host as they coevolve: many hosts have developed strong defenses against brood parasitism, such as recognizing and ejecting parasitic eggs, or abandoning parasitized nests and starting over. It is less obvious why most hosts do care for parasite nestlings ...
Its intermediate hosts are land snails, usually of the genus Succinea. The pulsating, green broodsacs fill the eye stalks of the snail, thereby attracting predation by birds, the primary host. These broodsacs visually imitate caterpillars, a prey of birds. [2] The adult parasite lives in the bird's cloaca, releasing its eggs into the faeces.
Once the invasion of a host nest is successful, V. infernalis will take over the nest, inspecting and patrolling the cells. The host workers will initially avoid the parasite and often ignore any colony duties. In response, the parasite will maul and chase the workers.
Some parasites have evolved to manipulate their host's behavior in order to increase their transmission to uninfected susceptible individuals, thereby increasing their fitness. [23] This host manipulation is termed the "extended phenotype" of the parasite and is a form of adaptation.
The parasite then replaces the fish's tongue by attaching its own body to the muscles of the tongue stub. [7] The parasite apparently does not cause much other damage to the host fish, [2] but Lanzing and O'Connor (1975) reported that infested fish with two or more of the parasites are usually underweight. [8]