Animal Behavior and Parasitism

We live in a world teeming with parasites. Many animal behaviors, including social interactions, mating displays, and decisions about where to move, nest, and forage are shaped by interactions with parasites. The same is true for humans, where our attraction to mates, hygienic behaviors, food choices, and decisions about when and where to gather in groups often depend on current and perceived infection risk. In turn, behaviors like social distancing and self-medication can alter the trajectories of parasite transmission and evolution, as vividly illustrated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The myriad connections between animal behavior and parasitism have been the subject of growing research interest since the 1970s and 80s, when fundamental theories linking the two fields of study emerged. Since then, a combination of conceptual and technological advances, and increased integration of ideas across disciplines, have helped to uncover fascinating new connections between animal behavior and the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. This accessible text surveys emerging research in this vibrant field. Chapters focus on fundamental topics at the interface of animal behavior and parasitism, and authors have been selected to provide a diverse and international perspective.

Animal Behavior and Parasitism is an upper-level text suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate level students as well as professional researchers in animal behavior/behavioral ecology, disease ecology, parasitology, and evolutionary biology.

Vanessa Ezenwa, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, USA,Sonia M. Altizer, Interim Dean and UGA Athletic Association Professor of Ecology, Odum School of Ecology and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, USA,Richard Hall, Assistant Professor, Odum School of Ecology and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, USA

Vanessa O. Ezenwa is Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology. Her research interests include: ecology and evolution of infectious diseases; behavioral ecology; host physiology and behaviour as drivers of variation in parasite susceptibility and exposure; and the links between biodiversity loss and infectious disease. Her lab is currently addressing these questions in ungulate host systems in both the Western USA and Sub-Saharan Africa.


Sonia Altizer is Interim Dean and UGA Athletic Association Professor of Ecology at Odum School of Ecology and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia. The Altizer Lab at UGA aims to provide conceptual advances in host-pathogen interactions across multiple scales of organization, from within-host processes to community-level dynamics. It applies field, experimental, molecular, modeling, and comparative approaches to diverse study systems, including insect pathogens, avian diseases, bat viruses and mammal parasites.

Richard Hall is Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology. He also holds a joint appointment in the Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine. His lab uses mathematical models to understand how wildlife population dynamics, movement and interactions with pathogens respond to environmental changes, including anthropogenic food subsidies, land use change, and climate warming.

PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Animal behavior and parasitism: where have we been, where are we going?, Vanessa O. Ezenwa, Sonia Altizer, and Richard J. Hall
2. Parasites, host behavior, and their feedbacks, Dana M. Hawley and Vanessa O. Ezenwa
PART II: SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
3. Parasites in a social world: lessons from primates, Baptiste Sadoughi, Simone Anzà, Charlotte Defolie, Virgile Manin, Nadine Müller-Klein, Tatiana Murillo, Markus Ulrich, and Doris Wu
4. Constructing animal networks for parasite transmission inference, Janine Mistrick, Marie L.J. Gilbertson, Lauren A. White, and Meggan E. Craft
5. Collective behavior and parasite transmission, Carl N. Keiser
PART III: MOVEMENT BEHAVIOR
6. Movement data provides insight into feedbacks and heterogeneities in host-parasite interactions, Orr Spiegel, Nili Anglister, and Miranda M Crafton
7. Animal migration and infection dynamics: recent advances and future frontiers, Richard J. Hall, Sonia Altizer, Stephanie J. Peacock, and Allison K. Shaw
8. Seasonal human movement and the consequences for infectious disease transmission, Hannah R. Meredith and Amy Wesolowski
PART IV: SEXUAL SELECTION AND MATING BEHAVIOR
9. Parasite-mediated sexual selection: to mate or not to mate?, Alistair Pirrie, Hettie Chapman, and Ben Ashby
10. Shared biochemical pathways for ornamentation and immune function: rethinking the mechanisms underlying honest signalling of parasite resistance, Rebecca E. Koch and Geoffrey E. Hill
11. The genes of attraction: mating behavior, immunogenetic variation, and parasite resistance, Jamie C. Winternitz and Jessica L. Abbate
PART V: PARASITE MODIFICATION OF HOST BEHAVIOR
12. Host manipulation by parasites: from individual to collective behavior, Stephanie S. Godfrey and Robert Poulin
13. Altered feeding behaviors in disease vectors, Lauren J. Cator
PART VI: BEHAVIORAL DEFENSES
14. Infection avoidance behaviors across vertebrate taxa: patterns, processes, and future directions, Patricia C. Lopes, Susannah S. French, Douglas C. Woodhams, and Sandra A. Binning
15. Inter-individual variation in parasite avoidance behaviors and its epidemiological, ecological, and evolutionary consequences, Clémence Poirotte and Marie J. E. Charpentier
16. Behavioral defenses against parasitoids: genetic and neuronal mechanisms, Shaun Davis and Todd Schlenke
17. The behavior of infected hosts: behavioral tolerance, behavioral resilience, and their implications for behavioral competence, Jessica F. Stephenson and James S. Adelman
PART VII: EMERGING FRONTIERS
18. Emerging frontiers in animal behavior and parasitism: integration across scales, Sarah Guindre-Parker, Jenny Tung, and Alexander T. Strauss
19. Parallels in parasite behavior: the other side of the host-parasite relationship, Emlyn J. Resetarits, Lewis J. Bartlett, Cali A. Wilson, Anna R. Willoughby