权益分类	功能权益	普通用户	{{item.name}}会员
{{category.name}}	{{benefitItem.name}}

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.

许多寄生虫具有复杂的生命周期，其中一些具有医学和兽医的重要性，因为它们在最终（最终）宿主中有性繁殖之前，会以幼虫的形式感染一个或多个中间宿主。宿主之间的传播通常是营养性的；当前的宿主被下一个宿主吃掉。令人难以置信的是，一些寄生虫在繁殖之前会感染四个不同的宿主。为什么寄生虫有如此复杂的生命周期？这是一种令人费解的生活方式，因为在生命周期的每一步，寄生虫都有可能不会传播给下一个宿主，从而在繁殖之前死亡。该项目旨在更好地了解寄生虫生命周期的进化，并有两个目标：1)重建主要寄生虫群体的生命周期进化过程；2)评估食物网和觅食生态背景下的生命周期变化（即谁吃谁，多久吃一次）。这些目标将通过编制一个关于寄生虫生命周期以及寄生虫宿主在食物网中的位置（即它们的体型和营养水平）的综合数据库来实现。该项目将有助于更好地了解摄食相互作用如何影响寄生虫的策略，并有助于理解寄生虫的生态作用，这是当代环境快速变化的一个重要研究重点。