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Elevated nest temperature has opposing effects on host species infested with parasitic nest flies

Lauren Albert, Samantha Rumschlag, Alexandra Parker, Grace Vaziri, Sarah A. Knutie
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.07.440146
Lauren Albert
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT USA
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  • For correspondence: laalbert8@gmail.com
Samantha Rumschlag
2Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN USA
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Alexandra Parker
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT USA
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Grace Vaziri
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT USA
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Sarah A. Knutie
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT USA
3Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT USA
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ABSTRACT

  1. Hosts have developed or evolved defense strategies, including tolerance and resistance, to reduce damage caused by parasites. Environmental factors, such as elevated temperature, can influence the effectiveness of these different host defenses but also can directly affect parasite fitness. Therefore, the net effect of elevated temperature on host-parasite relationships are determined by its direct effects on the host and the parasite. Furthermore, because host species can defend themselves differently against their parasites, the net effect of temperature might differ across each host’s interaction with the same parasite.

  2. Few studies have determined the net effects of temperature on both host defenses and parasites in a multi-host system. To address this gap, we experimentally manipulated temperature and parasite presence in the nests of two host species who defend themselves differently to the same parasitic nest fly (Protocalliphora sialia). Specifically, we conducted a factorial experiment by increasing temperature (or not) and removing all parasitic nest flies (or not) in the nests of tolerant eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and resistant tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). We then quantified parasite load in nests and measured nestling body size metrics, blood loss, and survival.

  3. If temperature predominately affected parasite fitness, then elevated temperature would cause similar directional effects on parasite abundance across species. If temperature has different effects on hosts, then parasite abundance would differ in response to elevated temperature across host species.

  4. In contrast to previous years, we found that bluebird nests had half as many parasites as compared to swallow nests. Elevated temperature affected parasite abundance differently in each host species. Swallows from heated nests had fewer parasites compared to non-heated nests, suggesting that they were more resistant to the parasites. Interestingly, swallows from heated nests were also more tolerant to the effects of parasites than controls. In contrast, bluebirds from heated nests had more parasites and lower body mass compared to controls, suggesting that they lost tolerance, and resistance, to the parasites.

  5. Our results suggest that a changing climate could have complex net effects on host-parasite interactions, including on host defenses, with implications for host health and parasite survival.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted May 09, 2021.
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Elevated nest temperature has opposing effects on host species infested with parasitic nest flies
Lauren Albert, Samantha Rumschlag, Alexandra Parker, Grace Vaziri, Sarah A. Knutie
bioRxiv 2021.05.07.440146; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.07.440146
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Elevated nest temperature has opposing effects on host species infested with parasitic nest flies
Lauren Albert, Samantha Rumschlag, Alexandra Parker, Grace Vaziri, Sarah A. Knutie
bioRxiv 2021.05.07.440146; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.07.440146

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