Publications [#231380] of William G. Wilson
search PubMed.Papers Published
- Lion, S; van Baalen, M; Wilson, WG, The evolution of parasite manipulation of host dispersal.,
Proceedings. Biological sciences, vol. 273 no. 1590
(May, 2006),
pp. 1063-1071 [doi] .
(last updated on 2024/12/31)Abstract:
We investigate the evolution of manipulation of host dispersal behaviour by parasites using spatially explicit individual-based simulations. We find that when dispersal is local, parasites always gain from increasing their hosts' dispersal rate, although the evolutionary outcome is determined by the costs-to-benefits ratio. However, when dispersal can be non-local, we show that parasites investing in an intermediate dispersal distance of their hosts are favoured even when the manipulation is not costly, due to the intrinsic spatial dynamics of the host-parasite interaction. Our analysis highlights the crucial importance of ecological spatial dynamics in evolutionary processes and reveals the theoretical possibility that parasites could manipulate their hosts' dispersal.