DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Nutrient-mediated Manipulation of Host Feeding Behavior by a Parasitoid

这个项目调查动物的营养摄入如何影响它与寄生虫的相互作用。辛格博士和贝尔纳多将利用一个实验上易于处理的毛毛虫及其寄生蜂模型系统，进行旨在揭示寄生黄蜂如何通过操纵寄主毛毛虫严格控制的营养摄取而获益的实验。这项研究的基本科学价值来自于整合动物营养学、免疫学和行为生态学的观点，同时也有助于将科学知识用于农业和林业的虫害防治。公众外展的影响将通过康涅狄格州米德尔塞克斯县的小学和贝尔纳多女士担任康涅狄格州昆虫学会副会长的职位来实现。学校的项目将突出实验室中昆虫的自然历史，而CT昆虫学协会项目将为康涅狄格州所有年龄段的居民组织外联活动，并为其他学生提供机会，在一年一度的学生研讨会上与社区分享他们的研究成果。寄生蜂必须与宿主的防御作斗争，改变宿主的行为和生理，以利于自己的利益。寄生蜂对寄主养分摄取的操纵可能是这种相互作用的基本组成部分，但在更广泛的寄主-寄生虫相互作用领域中，这方面的研究有限。这项研究将测试其他功能假说，这些假说可以解释寄生蜂对毛虫寄主取食行为的操纵。这种寄主-寄生相互作用的初步证据表明，寄主毛虫在被寄生蜂寄生时表现出营养摄取的改变，这种寄主取食行为的改变有利于寄生寄生蜂。假设，改变寄主的食物营养可以对寄生蜂的生长性能和寄主免疫功能产生很大的影响。因此，寄生蜂可以控制寄主的营养摄取，以最大限度地增加对寄主组织的营养供应，或限制最大限度的寄主免疫功能所需的营养。研究人员建议操纵寄主饲料中的大量营养素比例，并使用生态免疫学和昆虫生理学领域的技术来评估这些由营养介导的寄主操纵的假想机制，以及它们可能的相互作用。该项目的数据将存储在卫斯理大学，并在公布后可供查阅。

This project investigates how an animal's nutrient intake affects its interaction with its parasites. Using an experimentally tractable model system of a caterpillar and its parasitic wasp, Dr. Singer and Ms. Bernardo will conduct experiments designed to reveal how the parasitic wasp benefits by manipulating its host caterpillar's highly regulated nutrient intake. The basic scientific value of this research stems from integrating the perspectives of animal nutrition, immunology, and behavioral ecology, while also contributing to scientific knowledge used in pest control in agriculture and forestry. Public outreach impacts will happen through Elementary Schools in Middlesex County, CT, and Ms. Bernardo's position as vice-president of the Connecticut Entomological Society. The school program will highlight the natural history of insects kept in the lab, while the CT Entomological Society program will organize outreach activities for Connecticut residents of all ages and provide opportunities for other students to share their research with the community at an annual Student Symposium.Parasitoids must battle host defenses and alter the behavior and physiology of their hosts to their own benefit. Parasitoid manipulation of host nutrient intake might be a fundamental component of such interactions, yet it has received limited study in the broader field of host-parasite interactions. This research will test alternative functional hypotheses that could explain manipulation of caterpillar host feeding behavior by a parasitoid wasp. Preliminary evidence from this host-parasitoid interaction suggests that host caterpillars exhibit altered nutrient intake when parasitized by the parasitoid wasp, and this change in host feeding behavior benefits the parasitoid. Hypothetically, altering dietary nutrients of the host can have large effects on parasitoid growth performance and host immune function. Consequently, parasitoids could manipulate host nutrient intake so as to maximize the nutrient supply to host tissues eaten by the parasitoid, or to limit nutrients required for maximal host immune function. The researchers propose to manipulate macronutrient ratios in host diets and use techniques employed in the field of ecoimmunology and insect physiology to evaluate these hypothetical mechanisms of nutrient-mediated host manipulation, and their possible interaction. Data from this project will be stored at Wesleyan University and made accessible as published.