Parasite life cycle evolution and the ecology of trophic interactions

寄生虫生命周期进化和营养相互作用的生态学

基本信息

批准号：
240212824
负责人：
Dr. Daniel Benesh
金额：
--
依托单位：
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
依托单位国家：
德国
项目类别：
Research Fellowships
财政年份：
2013
资助国家：
德国
起止时间：
2012-12-31 至 2016-12-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/240212824?language=en
关键词：
Parasite life cycle evolution ecology

项目摘要

Many parasites, some of medical and veterinary importance, have complex life cycles, in that they infect one or more intermediate hosts as larvae before they reproduce sexually in a final (definitive) host. Transmission between hosts is often trophic; the current host is eaten by the next host. Incredibly, some parasites infect up to four different hosts before reproducing. Why do parasites have such complex life cycles? This is a puzzling lifestyle, given that at each step in the life cycle, parasites risk not being transmitted to their next host and thus dying before reproducing. This project aims to better understand the evolution of parasite life cycles and has two objectives: 1) to reconstruct how life cycles evolved in the major groups of parasitic worms, and 2) to evaluate life cycle variation in the context of food webs and foraging ecology (i.e. who eats who and how often). These objectives will be addressed by compiling a comprehensive database on parasite life cycles as well as on the position of the parasites hosts in food webs (i.e. their body sizes and trophic levels). The project will lead to a better appreciation of how feeding interactions shape parasite strategies, and it will help to understand the ecological roles of parasites, an important research priority given the rapid pace of contemporary environmental change.

许多医学和兽医重要性的寄生虫具有复杂的生命周期，因为它们在最终（最终）宿主中繁殖性繁殖之前，将一个或多个中间宿主作为幼虫感染。宿主之间的传播通常是营养的。当前的主机被下一个主持人吃掉。令人难以置信的是，一些寄生虫在繁殖之前最多感染了四个不同的宿主。为什么寄生虫有如此复杂的生命周期？这是一种令人困惑的生活方式，鉴于在生命周期中的每个步骤中，寄生虫都有可能不会传播给他们的下一个宿主，因此在繁殖之前就死了。该项目旨在更好地理解寄生虫生命周期的演变，并有两个目标：1）重建生命周期在主要寄生虫蠕虫中如何演变，以及2）评估食物网络中的生命周期变化和觅食生态学（即谁在吃谁和频率）。这些目标将通过在寄生虫生命周期以及寄生虫宿主在食物网中的位置（即它们的身体大小和营养水平）编写全面的数据库来解决这些目标。该项目将对喂养相互作用如何塑造寄生虫策略进行更好的了解，并有助于理解寄生虫的生态作用，鉴于当代环境变化的迅速发展，这是一个重要的研究优先级。