Review
Ecological immunology: costly parasite defences and trade-offs in evolutionary ecology

https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-5347(96)10039-2Get rights and content

Abstract

In the face of continuous threats from parasites, hosts have evolved an elaborate series of preventative and controlling measures - the immune system - in order to reduce the fitness costs of parasitism. However, these measures do have associated costs. Viewing an individual's immune response to parasites as being subject to optimization in the face of other demands offers potential insights into mechanisms of life history trade-offs, sexual selection, parasite-mediated selection and population dynamics. We discuss some recent results that have been obtained by practitioners of this approach in natural and semi-natural populations, and suggest some ways in which this field may progress in the near future.

References (45)

  • I.M. Roitt

    Essential Immunology

    (1991)
  • C. König et al.

    Foraging activity and immunocompetence in workers of the humble bee, Bombus terrestris L.

  • A.E. Keymer et al.

    Behavioural ecology: the impact of parasitism

  • V.A. Connors et al.

    Effects of Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus (Acanthocephala) on the energy metabolism of adult starlings, Sturnus vulgaris

    Parasitology

    (1991)
  • R.L. Lochmiller et al.

    Relationship between protein nutritional status and immunocompetence in northern bobwhite chicks

    Auk

    (1993)
  • C.M. Lessells

    The evolution of life histories

  • L. Gustafsson et al.

    The costs of reproduction in the collared flycatcher

    Nature

    (1988)
  • M. Festa-Bianchet

    Individual differences, parasites, and the costs of reproduction for bighorn ewes (Ovis canadensis)

    J. Anim. Ecol.

    (1989)
  • L. Gustafsson

    Infectious disease, reproductive effort, and the cost of reproduction in birds

    Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London Ser B

    (1994)
  • K. Norris et al.

    Reproductive effort influences the prevalence of haematozoan parasites in great tits

    J. Anim. Ecol.

    (1994)

    • Cited by (0)

    ∗

    Ben Sheldon is now at the Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, UK EH9 3JT

    †

    Simon Verhulst is now at the Zoological Laboratory of the University of Groningen, PO Box 14, 9750 AA Haren, The Netherlands

    View full text
    Copyright © 1996 Published by Elsevier Ltd.