The Evolution of Altered Behaviors in Parasitized Animals: ACockroach-Acanthocephalan Model

贾尼斯·摩尔博士请求支持对棘头虫寄生虫引起的寄主蟑螂物种的行为变化进行比较研究。以往的研究假设，寄生虫引起的行为变化可能会增加蠕虫传播给脊椎动物宿主的可能性，从而提高了行为变化具有适应性意义的可能性。该项目将确定单一寄生虫物种在10种蟑螂身上引起的行为变化的程度和种类，并将调查密切相关的蟑螂对被寄生的相似反应的程度。行为变化将根据五个环境测试(底物颜色和方向、遮蔽物选择、活动水平和对气流的反应)进行测量。该项目对宿主-寄生虫共同进化的研究具有广泛的意义。如果行为变化与进化关系高度一致，那么寄生可以被视为群体进化中一个值得注意的因素。如果它们不能很好地被进化关联所预测，那么物种在它们的反应中似乎更普遍，因此更直接地适应它们的生态环境。

Dr. Janice Moore requests support for a comparative study of behavioral changes in host cockroach species caused by acanthocephalan worm parasites. Previous studies have postulated that parasite-induced behavioral changes may increase the probability of transmission of the worms to vertebrate hosts, raising the possibility of adaptive significance of the behavioral changes. This project will establish the degree and kinds of behavioral changes induced in ten cockroach species by a single parasite species, and will investigate the extent to which closely-related cockroaches have similar responses to being parasitized. Behavioral changes will be measured relative to five environmental tests (substrate color and orientation, shelter choice, activity level, and responses to air currents). The project has wide implications for the study of host- parasite coevolution. If behavioral changes are highly coincident with evolutionary relationships, then parasitism can be viewed as a noteworthy factor in the evolution of the group. If they are not well-predicted by evolutionary relatedness, then species would appear to be more generalized in their responses, and therefore more directly adapted to their ecological circumstances.